IDFC First Bank Debit Card Rewards Mess – Customers Harassed for Bank’s Mistake?

[vickyprasad]

Achha hua maine IDFC me account nahi open kiya 😂

Now IDFC block most of the mcc including utility too 🤣

 

[HumorSimpson]

i have 80k points blocked redemption 😭

Did you get mail or while redeeming you noticed ?

 

[zaid_2913]

Don’t know what’s going on. The bank patched a loophole that many took advantage of. Closing accounts because of this is not great. We should be grateful to the bank for the benefits we have received so far and support them, as no other bank has offered such advantages. Moreover, IDFC has the best app interface and provides the highest interest rates on savings accounts.

 

[vickyprasad]

Did you get mail or while redeeming you noticed ?

Getting error on redemption " points redemption failed, Please try again later."

 

[Tamraj Kilvish]

View attachment 109646

I wish other banks don't do follow this, else we will get only 1 to 2 rupees on cc payment from Cred Mobikwik or any other 😭

 

[rajarancho]

I wish other banks don't do follow this, else we will get only 1 to 2 rupees on cc payment from Cred Mobikwik or any other 😭

Isse acha Autopay rakh lo and peace of mind.

 

[NIKHILIRM]

Recently, the IDFC First Bank debit card became a hot topic in the rewards community. The reason? It had one of the most lucrative reward systems in force. Customers quickly discovered new ways to maximize these rewards across different types of payments.
In particular, many in the credit card community began paying lakhs of credit card bills using the IDFC First Bank debit card — earning about 2.5% value back. Crazy, right? Even the bank thought so. Soon, they imposed multiple MCC (merchant category code) restrictions to block rewards for credit card bill payments.
But as the saying goes: if there’s a will, there’s a way. People always find loopholes. That’s where fintech apps entered the scene.

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Wrong MCC Tagging – A Known Scam​

If you remember, I had previously posted about how wrong MCC tagging is a common scam in India.

• A grocery shop runs a POS machine categorized as a fuel station.
• An online gift voucher platform shows up as a hotel merchant.

These mismatches aren’t “mistakes.” Payment gateway providers verify documents before assigning MCCs, so when this happens, they are 100% responsible. Yet, it’s the customers who suffer the consequences later.

​

The Current Problem​

After IDFC First Bank restricted several MCCs, some fintech apps began offering credit card bill payment via debit cards, using MCCs that weren’t blocked.

• Customers paid lakhs of rupees in credit card bills.
• In return, they earned lakhs worth of reward points.

And now comes the million-dollar question:
Whose fault is this? Customers? Absolutely not.

​

How IDFC Responded​

Instead of admitting the loophole, IDFC First Bank began calling customers and interrogating them:

• “What is the source of your funds?”
• “Are these business transactions?”

At first, these questions sound fine — a bank must ensure savings accounts aren’t misused for business purposes.
But then they went further. They started asking:

• “Why did you use VI, Goodscore, etc. to pay your credit card bills? Why not CRED?”

Really? Now the bank will decide which app I should use to pay my own bills?
It didn’t stop there. They accused customers of exploiting rewards, pointed to their redemption history, and in some cases, froze accounts citing ‘suspicious activity.’ And if you’ve ever dealt with IDFC freezes, you know how tough it is — local branches barely help, and accounts remain frozen for weeks or months.

And they didn’t stop there. They went a step further and even blocked a few merchants. For example, when customers tried paying their credit card bills on Zavo, the transactions failed right after entering the OTP on the payment page. Imagine this — I have my own money in my bank account, but I can’t use it to pay my bill through Zavo. This feels like dictatorship, and I’m honestly surprised that no concerned authority has taken any action till now.

Serious Concerns That Arise​

1. Why is IDFC First Bank forcing customers to use CRED while questioning them for using other legitimate apps like VI or Goodscore?
2. A debit card is linked to our own money. Unless the government has restricted something, we should have full freedom to decide where we spend it. Where does IDFC First Bank get the authority to dictate which apps we can use?
3. How can a bank block certain merchants when they are not illegal? Just because they have to give rewards, they can’t simply block a merchant.

This approach makes no sense. If IDFC doesn’t want rewards to be earned on certain apps, they should:

• Impose more MCC restrictions, or
• Shut down the debit card rewards program altogether.

But what they cannot do is harass customers who are simply using legal apps in India.

​

The Real Issue​

It looks like IDFC First Bank’s debit card product manager made a blunder by offering rewards at an unsustainably high rate. And now, instead of taking accountability, the bank is shifting the blame onto customers.

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What You Can Do (Solution)​

If you have received such calls or had your account frozen by IDFC First Bank:

• Write to IDFC’s Principal Nodal Officer (PNO) department.
• Ask the same questions raised above.
• Share this thread if needed as reference.
• Demand a clear resolution.

If the bank still doesn’t resolve your issue, escalate further by filing a complaint with the RBI Banking Ombudsman portal.

Now they have stopped. Problem solved.

 

[tempmirzaa]

Any Bank should start showing MCC code on OTP page.
Why should customers guess where the transaction is tagged grocery, fuel, hotel, or gift voucher?
Wrong MCC tagging no rewards customer frustration.

 

[kimikfuria]

IDFC seems to have a review of the funds flow on the account, from source of funds to destination to avoid any suspicious transaction like Money La_ndering and T_rriost Fin_ncing and mostly they are just monitoring the transactions.

I work for revolut and based on the above post its just to avoid and bad reputation to the bank and RBI has strict guidelines against this and no one of us would like being under scrutiny for PMLA 🙂

 

[HumorSimpson]

IDFC seems to have a review of the funds flow on the account, from source of funds to destination to avoid any suspicious transaction like Money La_ndering and T_rriost Fin_ncing and mostly they are just monitoring the transactions.

I work for revolut and based on the above post its just to avoid and bad reputation to the bank and RBI has strict guidelines against this and no one of us would like being under scrutiny for PMLA 🙂

Whats revolut. ?

 

[Dr.AMAN]

Whats revolut. ?

Revolut is a british neobank. I have seen a few European NRIs carrying the revolut card in their wallet when they come to India. It looks dope