‘Do- Not- Call(DNC)Registry’

Indian Banks’ Association and India Cards Council (ICC) facilitated by MasterCard International have been deeply engaged on the issue of unwanted Tele Marketing Calls for Credit Cards & other Banking products. The Governance Committee of the ICC met today under the aegis of the Indian Bank's Association, and agreed to initiate measures for setting up a Common ‘Do- Not- Call(DNC)Registry’ covering all financial products. The Governance Committee of the ICC comprises of officials from MasterCard International, Central Bank of India, Citibank, HDFC Bank, HSBC, ICICI Bank, Vijaya Bank.

Guidelines issued by RBI on credit card operations in November 2005 had stipulated that each bank should set up a do-not-call registry for customers who did not wish to receive tele-marketing calls from the bank. Though banks have set up DNCs, customers find the arrangement cumbersome as they have to register with each bank separately. MasterCard India drew upon its experiences in the US and Canada to propose that a much better solution would be for the cards industry as a whole to operate a Common Do- Not- Call Registry. After extensive discussion and meetings a decision was taken to progress in the direction of setting up a common DNC. It is expected that in about 90 days an RFP will be issued inviting prospective service operators to bid to set up and operate the Common Do- Not- Call Registry.