The government wants to tax credit card transactions abroad but is missing a potentially bigger misuse of the instrument at home—fake rent payments.
The founder of a fintech startup I met recently had a trivia question for me: “You’ve been covering this sector for a while, so let me ask you a question. What according to you is the largest and fastest growing sub-category of spends by credit card users in India?”
I thought for a bit. “Airline tickets? Fuel? Food delivery?”
“Nope.”
“Hmm. Edtech subscriptions?”
“Rent payments,” came the reply.
“No way!”
“It won't reflect in any official data but firms tracking credit card spends will be able to tell you that in recent months, payment of home rent is contributing to …
Ashwin covered fintech and banking at The Morning Context. Previously, he was at The Economic Times, where he worked across the finance, tech and startup verticals, breaking stories related to India’s banking system, startups in the new economy, digital payments, insurance and cryptocurrencies.
Writer
ashwin@mailtmc.com
Delhi