Onecard : Best and Smartest Metal Credit Card in India

OneCard Metal Card

You already know what a credit card is and how to use it. When it comes to credit cards, there is not much difference between a credit card offered by Bank A and Bank B (in the same category). There could be some features plus or minus but overall it is more or less the same. In this article, we are going to talk about an exclusive credit card – OneCard.

What is an OneCard?

OneCard is an entry-level credit card, meaning it is a card for beginners. It was launched by FPL technologies and works with IDFC bank. The network used is Visa. Unlike other credit cards, it is not made up of plastic material but a metal credit card. There are some credit card companies like American Express which provide you a metal credit card. Though those are premium credit cards and come with high joining and annual fees, OneCard comes at no cost.

What is a metal card?

If you are wondering, what is a metal card, is it really made up of metal and does it work in the same way? Yes, it works in the same way as plastic credit cards and is made of metals. Physically, the only difference is that they are a bit heavier since made up of metal. In most cases, they are sturdy and flashy. You can get metal cards made of brass, titanium, brushed stainless steel, copper, gold, or palladium.

What are the features of OneCard?

You can get the OneCard for free i.e there is no joining fee. Even the annual fee of the card is zero so you don’t have to pay anything if you continue using the card. The Markup fee is only 1% + GST which is less compared to other credit cards. Markup fees are charged by a payment processor and that is how they make money.  The interest rate is around 2.5% per month.

What are the OneCard Rewards?

There are two types of rewards that OneCard offers – Regular rewards and accelerated rewards. In a regular reward system, you receive 1 reward point for every Rs 50 spent. While accelerated points give you 5X reward points on the top 2 categories. It means that when you spend on three or more categories in a month, the top 2 categories will qualify for 5X rewards. The 5X reward points get credited to your points in the subsequent month. 10 reward points are equal to Rs 1.

With most credit cards, the reward points are credited to your account after rounding off the amount as per the decided rate. In other words, there are no fractional reward points. With OneCard, you get a fractional credit card as well. So if you spend Rs 199 then you will receive 3.98 points.

There is a catch in the reward program, the regular reward is between 0.2% and 2% while the accelerated reward rate is between 1% and 10%. It means you will get 2% (1 reward point for Rs 50) only for some categories. The same is true for the accelerated reward program. Practically, the reward rate is only 0.2% to 1%. This is less compared to industry standards.

Reward point redemption

Redeeming rewards points with some credit card companies can be tedious work. OneCard offers a very simple way for you to redeem credit points. Once you have enough reward points, you can redeem it from their app – you can either use the reward points to repay existing purchases or opt for other offers.

Do OneCard points expire?

OneCard points never expire, they have lifetime validity and you can use them whenever you want to or you have enough of it.

What is the Swipe to Pay feature of OneCard?

The online credit card transactions are completed by One Time Password (OTP). So when you authorize a payment, you receive an OTP and then you populate it or it gets auto-populated and then you approve it.  It is a very simple and straightforward process. The problem comes when you don’t receive OTP and it does happen sometimes, there is a delay in receiving OTP. As per a report, most of the online transactions fail because of delayed OTP.

To deal with this problem, OneCard has come with a Swipe to Pay option. Every time you make a transaction online, you will receive a notification on your mobile app. You will have to verify the transaction by logging into your App by providing PIN or biometrics and then swipe the notification to complete your purchase. It is very similar to the UPI payment.

Another feature is that the card details are always with you in the App, so you don’t need to take the physical card out to make a transaction. You can copy the number from the OneCard App and complete the transaction. However, if you are using this feature you need to ensure your phone is fully secured via PIN and biometrics.

How do I use OneCard?

You now know a lot about the OneCard, so let us talk about how you can get it and start using it. To apply for the card, you need to get the OneCard App from the Playstore or AppStore.

To start with, you need to provide your mobile number and verify it using OTP. The app will ask you to register with another app to move forward in the process. You need to download the OneScore app also. It is kind of an unnecessary step that they have added in the process. This app gets your credit score. They could have got the credit score from the original app instead of asking you to download an additional app. You will again have to Login to the OneScore app using your mobile and then provide your email, first and last time to generate your credit score.

As shown, in the below image, you will have to wait for the SMS confirmation to proceed further with your application.

Given it is a new card, the company is still in its expansion phase and currently, OneCard is available in 15 cities including Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat & Delhi.

Given how good your credit score is you can receive a credit limit between Rs 1,50,000 and Rs 2,00,000.

What is the OneCard payment method?

You can pay your credit card bills through the OneCard app. When you do so, your credit limit will be restored immediately unlike with other credit cards – when you make the payment, the payment is posted in your account in 3 to 4 days. You can make the payment via UPI, Netbanking, or Debit cards, all these options are available in the app.

Is it okay to have OneCard?

If you are looking for a fancy entry-level card, you can surely apply for OneCard. Given there is no joining and annual fee, you can keep the metal card for free, literally for a lifetime.

If you are a regular user of credit cards, the rewards points are not too attractive to switch all your purchases on this card. Given the card is still in the beta phase, you can expect major changes and features coming up in the near future.

Which is the best credit card in India?

There is no credit card that fits all. So technically speaking you cannot point to a credit card and say, it is the best credit card. Different credit cards have different features and rewards. It depends on individuals’ needs, accordingly you have to choose the right credit card to get the maximum benefit and make it the best credit card.

For example, if you spend heavily on fuel you should opt for a co-branded credit card from Oil company. For example, the Indian Oil Citi Platinum Credit card. Similarly, if you spend more on travel, flight booking, and hotels, the Yatra SBI Credit Card will be best for you.

Is it bad to have a lot of credit cards with zero balance?

When you say zero balance credit card it means you are keeping an inactive account. You can keep as many inactive accounts as you want, the only concern is it can impact your credit score. In the short term, there are no issues but it may impact your credit health in a long run. The real issue only happens when you get too many cards and at some point in time, you decide to close some of them. As you close your existing account, your credit score gets down. If you are maintaining a very good credit score, there won’t be any major impact if you close a couple of your credit card accounts. However, if your score is on the borderline or bad, you could be in trouble with your credit score.

Is a Credit Card good or bad?

Just like there is no ‘best credit card’, credit cards are neither good nor bad. You can think of it as financial tools, and just like any other tool, if you know how to use the tool properly, they are good. If you don’t know how to use it, it could lead you into trouble and hurt your finances.

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