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FHRAI - ICICI tie-up for co-branded membership cards

Praveen K Singh - Delhi

In an industry first, Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India (FHRAI) has tied-up with ICICI Bank to provide co-branded membership cards to its members. This move, decided in its first executive committee meeting held at Kolkata recently, will prevent illegal duplication of membership cards. The association had received several complaints of such card usage, reported by the affiliated hotels across the country.

Speaking to Express Hospitality, secretary general of FHRAI, Kamal Sharma said, "The new membership card will be secure, and it will prevent illegal usage.” He further added, “FHRAI is also looking to tie-up with other national as well as international banks, for credit cards with a credit limit of up to Rs three lakh."

With over 3500 active members of FHRAI, this move is expected to generate a business of over Rs 220 crore for the bank. Highlighting the security aspect of this development, a senior official of ICICI Bank said, "Based on the needs of the association, chip-based cards can be designed. These cards will have FHRAI's hologram, a microprocessor memory chip and data encoded on the magnetic strip with PINs for extra security." He said that when inserted into sale-point terminals, the chip will validate the card against the membership. "This does not require swiping, thus eliminating the potential risk of data theft." he elaborates.

However, industry experts comment that even co-branded membership cards are not fool-proof against fraud, especially where the card is not required to be presented physically. "In particular, the 'Mail Order Telephone Order' (MOTO) type accounts, in which the card is not presented, but the particulars are mentioned over the telephone to buy goods or for any service," cautioned an industry expert.