First credit card in India: eligibility and FD-backed options
Updated 30 Oct 2026 · by SwipeWise editorial team · how we write
Nobody can promise you a credit card, and this guide does not try to. What it does is lay out what issuers publish about who can apply, how a card secured against a fixed deposit (FD) works in the issuers’ own terms, and what RBI requires of an issuer. Every figure comes from an issuer or RBI document listed at the end, read on 30 October 2026. Where a document is old or two documents disagree, the text says so.
No score is not a low score
Axis Bank’s explainer on score ranges says a CIBIL score runs from 300 to 900 and that “NA/NH (no history)” means you have no credit history, “meaning you have never taken a loan or used a Credit Card”. It treats that as different from the “300-599 (Poor)” band, which it describes as a history of unpaid card bills or EMIs. This is Axis’s description, not a statement from the bureau: TransUnion CIBIL’s own site blocked automated access, so we have not read the bureau’s wording. For how utilisation reaches a report, and what we could not confirm about its effect, see credit utilisation and your CIBIL score.
What entry-level cards in our data say about eligibility
None of the pages below states a minimum credit score. They state age and income, and the approval decision stays with the issuer.
| Card | Annual fee | Income the issuer states |
|---|---|---|
| IndianOil HDFC Bank | ₹500 | Salaried: net monthly income above ₹12,000. Self-employed: ITR above ₹6 lakh |
| ICICI Coral | ₹500 | Salaried: ₹20,000 a month. Self-employed: ₹2.4 lakh a year |
| Swiggy HDFC Ornge | ₹500 | Salaried: net monthly income above ₹20,000. Self-employed: ITR above ₹6 lakh |
| Tata Neu Plus HDFC | ₹499 | Salaried: ₹25,000 a month. Self-employed: ITR above ₹6 lakh |
| IDFC FIRST Millennia | ₹0 | Annual income ₹3 lakh or more |
Fees are as each issuer states them, with taxes extra where the card page says so. The HDFC cards also state age bands (21-60 salaried, 21-65 self-employed). Our first credit card list ranks cards by net yearly value and shows a minimum income where we have one, but a card on that list is not one you will necessarily get.
What RBI requires of the issuer
From the RBI Master Direction on credit and debit cards (RBI/2022-23/92, updated to 7 March 2024):
- Unsolicited cards are prohibited (para 6(a)(iv)). You should only receive a card you applied for.
- Issuers must “independently assess the credit risk” of applicants, considering their independent financial means, and assess limits using self-declaration or credit information from a credit information company (para 6(b)(i)-(ii)). The text does not explicitly require income verification.
- Before reporting a cardholder as a defaulter to a credit information company, the issuer must tell you (para 12(b)).
- A request to close a card must be honoured within seven working days, with a penalty of ₹500 a day on the issuer for delay, once dues are paid (para 8(a)).
On your own report: under RBI’s Credit Information Companies Directions, 2025 (para 21(7), as reproduced by TaxGuru), a credit information company must give you one free full report, including the score, “once, at any time, during a year (January - December)”, on request and after authentication. Para 41(1) sets compensation of ₹100 a day if a complaint is not resolved within 30 calendar days. Check the report before you apply so you know what the issuer will see.
Cards secured against a fixed deposit
An FD-backed card is issued against a deposit that the issuer holds as security. The three issuers below publish different terms, and some of the documents are old, so use the table as a map of what to ask, not as current terms.
| ICICI Bank (Instant Platinum / Coral against FD) | Axis Bank (My Zone Easy and other Easy cards) | Kotak (811 Dream Different) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit limit | 90% of the FD, minimum ₹45,000, maximum ₹5 lakh (Instant Credit Card T&C, clause 4) | 80%, rounded down to ₹1,000 (lien declaration, 2020); the Axis page says “up to 80%-90%” | 80% of the deposit (2023 MITC); current figure not confirmed |
| Minimum FD | ₹50,000, 180 days, auto-renewal, single-person FD only | ₹15,000 to ₹25 lakh; tax-saver, flexi and HUF/trust/company FDs not eligible | ₹10,000; 181 days on the help page, one year and one day in the 2023 MITC |
| What is held | Lien on the whole FD including interest earned | FD is “continuing security” | Lien on the deposit excluding interest earned |
| Unpaid dues | Bank may liquidate the FD if dues stay unpaid 60 days from the due date, or outstanding passes 95% of the FD | Bank may encash or set off on default; no day count stated | Bank may liquidate if the minimum due is unpaid within 90 days of the statement |
| Fee | Instant Platinum: nil joining and annual. Coral against FD: ₹500 joining, ₹500 from year two (column reading uncertain) | ₹500 joining and annual on the card page; the FD-card page shows nil with a “fee waiver” tag, conditions not stated | Nil (2023 document) |
| Stated finance charge | 3.75% a month, “45% per annum” | 3.40% a month, “49.36% per annum” | 3.50% a month, “42.00% per annum” (2023 document) |
| Eligibility | No age or income rule found on the FD-card pages | Indian resident with PAN, age 18+, “no income proof required” | Needs an FD with Kotak; age and income not found |
Notes on the table:
- The FD stays blocked. ICICI says no part-withdrawals are possible while the card is active, and that the FD “continues to earn interest” (subject to TDS). If you close the card, ICICI’s terms say the FD continues as you instruct.
- Marketing language is not a term. Axis’s page describes the card as “guaranteed approval” for FD holders. The same page requires KYC, and the Axis terms exclude several kinds of FD. Read the exclusions, not the headline.
- SBI. We could not find an SBI Card document that describes an FD-backed card. SBI’s issuance policy says only that secured cards are granted by “marking lien on the fixed deposit”. SBI’s general MITC lists 2.5% a month for secured cards, but without a named product we say nothing more.
- Reporting. ICICI’s MITC says it submits data to CIBIL every month and Axis’s says twice a month, for all cardholders. Kotak’s 2023 document says defaults are reported within seven days and that accounts reflect at the bureaus within 60 days. These statements cover all cardholders and none is specific to FD-backed cards, so ask the issuer whether the secured card is reported.
The finance charges are not comparable as printed. Axis’s 49.36% equals 3.40% compounded monthly: 1.034 raised to the 12th power is about 1.494. ICICI’s “45%” is 3.75% times 12, with no compounding. Compounded monthly, 3.75% would be about 55.5% a year by our arithmetic. Compare the monthly rates, and read how the issuer computes the annual figure.
A worked example
Take an ICICI FD-backed card on a ₹50,000 FD. The limit is 90% of ₹50,000, or ₹45,000, which is also the minimum limit. Spending ₹9,000 a month uses 20% of the limit (9,000 / 45,000).
- Pay the full bill each month and the finance charge is zero. The only cost is the FD’s idle capital: it keeps earning interest at the FD rate, which depends on the tenure you opened and which we do not state.
- Pay nothing on that ₹9,000 for a month and the stated 3.75% a month is about ₹337.50 on it (9,000 x 0.0375). This simplifies the daily method and ignores any loss of the interest-free period.
- If the outstanding amount, including charges, grows above 95% of the FD, which is ₹47,500, ICICI’s terms let it liquidate the whole FD.
On Axis the same ₹50,000 FD would give a ₹40,000 limit under the 80% rule (50,000 x 0.80). Because the Axis page and the lien declaration differ on the percentage, confirm which applies before you open the deposit.
What to check before you apply
- The issuer’s current eligibility page and MITC, including age, income and whether income proof is needed.
- For FD-backed cards: the limit percentage, minimum FD and tenure, what is liened (principal only or interest too), the day count that lets the issuer liquidate, and whether the FD’s interest continues.
- The monthly finance charge and how the annual figure is computed.
- Joining and annual fee, and what a “fee waiver” tag depends on.
- Your own credit report, for errors, before you apply.
- Whether you need the card at all. Do not use a limit you cannot repay.
Limits of this guide
We read these documents on 30 October 2026. The ICICI MITC is marked “last updated on Oct 9th, 2026”, the Axis MITC was created on 8 October 2026, the Axis lien declaration dates from 2020, and the Kotak MITC PDF was created in January 2023 and conflicts with Kotak’s help page on tenure. SBI Unnati and the IDFC FIRST, HDFC, Bank of Baroda, Federal and IndusInd secured cards were not verified. This is general information, not financial advice.
Sources
- Axis Bank, CIBIL score range explainer (the issuer’s description of score range and NA/NH), accessed 30 Oct 2026.
- RBI, Master Direction - Credit Card and Debit Card - Issuance and Conduct Directions, 2022 (RBI/2022-23/92, updated to 7 Mar 2024), paras 6, 8 and 12, accessed 30 Oct 2026.
- Reserve Bank of India (Credit Information Companies) Directions, 2025, paras 21(7) and 41(1), text as reproduced by TaxGuru, accessed 30 Oct 2026.
- ICICI Bank: credit card against fixed deposit page; Terms & Conditions governing credit card facilities, clause XXXV (PDF created 17 Aug 2024); MITC (last updated 9 Oct 2026), accessed 30 Oct 2026.
- Axis Bank: credit card against fixed deposit page; My Zone Easy page; MITC (PDF created 8 Oct 2026); declaration to mark lien on FD (PDF created 9 Oct 2020), accessed 30 Oct 2026.
- Kotak Mahindra Bank: 811 Dream Different terms and MITC (PDF created 13 Jan 2023); FD requirements FAQ (undated), accessed 30 Oct 2026.
- SBI Card: Policy for the issuance and conduct of credit cards, 2023 and MITC, accessed 30 Oct 2026.
- Eligibility figures for the five unsecured cards come from each card’s page on this site, which lists the issuer’s own document: IndianOil HDFC, ICICI Coral, Swiggy HDFC Ornge, Tata Neu Plus HDFC, IDFC FIRST Millennia, accessed 30 Oct 2026.