Review || Citi

As promised, here comes a post on Citi ...

I started banking with Citi when I got my first job because my first salary account was with Citi. As soon as my 'Savings Account' started with them, I took up a Citibank Indian Oil card as the card promised tempting fuel rewards and I was planning to buy a car.

The Initial Impression:

Citi is high-fi! The moment you enter into Citi's system, that's the feel that you get. They prefer their customers to do online/tele banking in place of banking in person, not that they have a problem if you come to their branch, just that their preference is different.

With time and relationships, my experience with Citi kept changing.

Banking experience (Online):

Their online interface contains a button for every possible option that a user may choose. Though the interface is not pretty, it is very useful.

One thing that I've heard works very well for people, but sadly that never worked properly for me, was syncing credit cards with savings accounts.

Next, off late, the interface contains new 'Offers' and emails in an 'Inbox' which are basically ideas to promote new products. These are not disturbing but are not very pleasant to look at either. Nevertheless, the whole (online) banking experience is not bad.

Customer Service:

5/5

Be it getting an add-on credit card or closing an account, there is no 'chik-chik' with the Citi guys. Whatever you wish to do, just select the corresponding option on their online interface. In case it is not available, a 'Query' can be dropped to them or they can be called. The TAT for customer requests and/or queries is short.

Sometimes, I've heard people complain about procedures. Let's face it, every organization and more so, every bank has a certain procedure. Following processes is not bad. What is bad is using the label of 'processes' and delaying things unnecessarily. Luckily, I haven't faced such a situation with Citi yet.

Points Redemption

Citi offers points not just for credit cards, but also for transactions (as per quantity & currency volume) on the Savings Account. The only condition with these (account) points is that they lapse when the financial year ends. For the credit card, thankfully, points get accumulated. Since I have an Indian Oil Credit Card, I must say, I'm extremely happy for I get a fuel surcharge waiver at every Indian Oil petrol pump and I can conveniently redeem my credit card points for free fuel. The best part about points redemption is that it is super quick - Just drive in to an Indian Oil petrol pump authorized for points redemption (check the list on Citi's website), give your card and ask the helper to redeem your points.

USP:

If you choose the language 'English' for Customer Service, then the executives know how to speak in English. Jokes apart, Citi Privileges enable you to get 15-20% discounts at various eating & shopping outlets. Citi has a tie-up with certain merchants due to which the customers get extra points on every swipe.

Bad:
As mentioned earlier, Citi is high-fi. For most of the accounts, a high deposit is required. So Citi banking is not meant for a regular, middle-class person like me.

Improvements:

Though the current situation of the online interface is not bad, we could do with some improvements in its look & feel.

My Special Feature:

The security system of Citi. Whenever you try to set or change an IPIN, the system does not allow you to use any of the previous 6 (or may be 10) passwords. The setup is quite strict as one always has to use the virtual keyboard. I get extremely irritated whenever I have to change my IPIN, primarily because I can't think of an IPIN which can be easily remembered yet is cryptic enough. Despite this, I prefer to use Citi because the whole setup makes a customer feel safe.

My Special Moment:

45 days prior to the expiry of my card, I received an email from Citi asking me to confirm my residential address so that they can send me the new card on that address. I don't know how many days in advance does RBI ask banks to have a correspondence with credit card customers, but I was extremely happy to see an organization work with planning & time management.