HDFC Vs. ICICI. Review on HDFC Bank

I first opened a corporate account with HDFC in 2000 and then another savings acc. in 2002. Both are zero balance. HDFC was quite generous in giving me a second zero balance acc.

I also have a saving acc. ( since 2003 ) with ICICI used mainly for Trading

(ICICDirect ). But I am clearly more impressed with HDFC banks services.

If HDFC has a trading account, I would shift to it.

Netbanking :

The netbanking service is excellent. GUI is attractive, simple and userfriendly.

ICICI's netbanking leaves a lot to be desired. For e.g. Just check what happens when you enter a wrong password on ICICI

netbanking. A ugly screen with a one liner and a contact no. comes on your screen informing you of your mistake. Looks very amateurish.

HDFC clearly outscores ICICI in netbanking.

Phone Banking :

I find Phone banking with HDFC to be very convenient, simple and fast.

You just need a Customer ID and a password to access phone banking. The same Customer ID is also used in netbanking.

You can expect your job to be done by a phone banker reasonably fast.

Compare this to ICICI phonebanking. You just need to have your cheque book ready and furnish them details. Earlier they had a TPIN no in addition to a Debit. no. and CRN ( Customer Relation Number )and password.

Thankfully the TPIN no. has been done away now. When you Phone bank with ICICI, you have to provide a large no. of authentication details which is difficult to remember. Also ICICI should have a better and simpler IVR.

A very irritating thing about ICICI phone bankers is that they really test your patience. He/She will keep you on hold for 10-15 mins. I have disconnected from phone banking so many times after having been put on hold. Again HDFC is ahead of ICICI in phonebanking.

ATMs :

No. of ATMs of ICICI is very good. HDFC lags slightly behind in the no. of ATMs even though it is good. Service in both banks ATM are good. I use HDFC ATMs quite often. I have seen downtime in HDFC ATMs rarely. One good thing about HDFC ATMs is you can deposit money/Cheque inside the ATM which is more secure. In ICICI you have to put it in a drop box.

Customer Service :

I found Customer Service in both HDFC and ICICI to be satisfactory. Bank Representatives are very courteous and helpful.

In HDFC you are more likely to be attended quicker.

Something which is totally unheard of in nationalised banks like SBI and Canara.

Debit Cards :

Generally Banks give the impression that Debit cards are credit cards with the difference that your money is directly debited from the bank. But from experience, I can tell that you cannot use a Db. card the same way you can use a Cr. card. For eg. if some one at a merchant establishment swipes your Db. card, your bank acc. is debited twice.

Besides a high percentage of Tax, sometimes a service tax is charged upon use of the Db. card. And if you reverse the transaction your acc. is not credited immeditely. It may take 4-5 days.

Db. cards are mostly good to be used in the ATMs.

Some recent changes in ICICI :

And from April 2004 ICICI has put a charge on the cheque books, no. of transactions done even from ICICI ATMs, visits to the bank.

All these are free in HDFC

Charge for Quarterly Average Balance in ICICI has also increased.