Unsolicited card
Short answer
An unsolicited card is one issued or upgraded without your explicit consent — and the RBI Master Direction flatly prohibits it. If one arrives: do not activate it, tell the issuer in writing to close it, and they must do so without cost to you. A card that sits unactivated also cannot be billed: consent, not delivery, creates the relationship.
What it means
Banks once mass-mailed cards to grow their books, and customers discovered them via annual fees or, worse, via fraud on cards they never knew existed. The RBI Master Direction on credit cards ended the practice: issuance, upgrades and limit increases all require your explicit consent first.
The 30-day OTP rule
The same direction adds a backstop for cards you did request but never used: if a new card is not activated within 30 days, the issuer must seek OTP-based consent before it can be activated at all, and close it free of charge if you decline. A card in a drawer does not silently become a live account.
The common mistake
Activating it "just to check" or cutting it up and forgetting it. Activation creates the account; silent disposal leaves an open card on your bureau report with a fee cycle attached. The correct move is the boring one: a written closure request and a reference number.
The subtlety worth knowing
An unsolicited card is not just an annoyance — it is an identity-risk marker. Someone may have applied in your name. Pull your free credit report and check for accounts and inquiries you do not recognise while you are at it.
Related
All figures on this page are indicative and dated. Rates and fees differ by bank and change over time. Always verify with your bank's official schedule of charges.
Frequently asked questions
A card arrived that I never applied for. What now?
Do not activate it. Write to the issuer - app, email, or the grievance address in the mailer - stating you never consented and want it closed. Keep the reference number. If it lingers or a fee appears, escalate: the regulation is squarely on your side.
My existing card was upgraded without my consent. Is that allowed?
No - the same consent rule covers upgrades and limit enhancements. If an upgrade brought a higher fee you never agreed to, ask in writing for a reversal to the old card and a refund of the fee, citing your absence of consent.
Sources
The regulation and official pages this page is checked against. If one of them disagrees with us, it wins.
- Master Direction — Credit Card and Debit Card (Issuance and Conduct) Directions, 2022 — Reserve Bank of India
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Written and checked by the CardSamajh editorial desk · Last reviewed: · How we check this