Ineligible for Cashback
I travelled to Maldives last Eid and used my RAKBANK Mastercard Titanium credit card to pay at the hotel, for an amount of Dh4,377. I have had this card since 2004 and have a very healthy throughput on the card each month.
I used the RAKBANK card over the cards in my wallet, since they offer lucrative Cashback offers on international transactions.
The statement for this transaction was generated earlier this month [September] and my transaction (outside the UAE) has been considered a local UAE transaction. The response from the bank is that the merchant billed it in UAE dirhams, and hence the problem.
I had already spent over Dh40,000 on the card last month, so this additional international spend does not qualify for any more Cashback.
My issue is as follows:
When I travelled outside the UAE and used my card, I naturally believed this would be an international spend, and not a local transaction.
I am at the mercy of the merchant to ask me how this is to be billed (some merchants don’t ask). Further, the bank expects the customer to remember to tell the merchant to charge in the foreign currency! I don’t think customers are aware that even if they use their cards outside the country, they may not be getting what the bank had promised when they were signing up for the card.
Thank you Gulf News, for all the help.
From Mr Nasser Aboo
Dubai
Mr Ian Hodges, Head of Retail Banking, RAKBANK responds:
Thank you for giving us an opportunity to justify our stance on the issues raised by Mr Aboo, RAKBANK customer.
The concerns raised by Mr Aboo have been reviewed and we note that the transaction of Dh4,377.03 performed by the customer in Maldives on July 18, was billed by the merchant in UAE dirhams and hence treated as a domestic transaction as clarified in the Cashback agreement accepted by the customer and also published on the Bank’s website www.rakbank.ae.
Further, we would also like to clarify that the Bank has no control over choice of currency for billing the transaction at the Merchant’s terminal, as the billing currency is agreed between the cardholder and merchant at the time of the transaction.
Since receipt of Gulf News’ correspondence, we have once again contacted Mr Aboo and reiterated our stance.
(Process initiation: September 3. Response from organisation: September 3.)
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