A STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION TOWARDS CREDIT CARDS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO PRIVATE SECTOR BANKS IN SIVAKASI

Mrs. R. Maheswari. M.Com(CA). M.Phil. D.I.T 1 and Dr.T.Palaneeswari. M.Com. M.Phil. Ph.D 2 . 1. Ph.D. Research Scholar, Assistant Professor of Commerce, SFR College for Women, Sivakasi . 2. Associate Professor of Commerce, SFR College for Women, Sivakasi.. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History

A credit card is part of a system of payments named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. The issuer of the card grants a line of credit to the consumer (or the user) from which the user can borrow money for payment to a merchant or as a cash advance to the user. A credit card is different from a charge card, where a charge card requires the balance to be paid in full each month. In contrast, credit cards allow the consumers to 'revolve' their balance, at the cost of having interest charged. This study focus on the demographic profile of the respondents, details of banking transactions, utility of usage of credit cards by the card holders, reasons for using credit cards and level of satisfaction towards credit cards.

ISSN: 2320-5407
Int. J. Adv. Res. 5(6), 1520-1526 1521 have knowledge about credit cards, but do not possess credit cards because of the fear of falling into debt trap. High income earners and highly educated class use credit cards more, availing high credit limits (Dr.S.Sudhagar, 2012).

Statement Of The Problem:-
Credit cards have changed the way people look at money. Gone are the days when only the rich sported them at limited counters in select cities. Today, they are a way of life for the middle class too, even in smaller locations across the country. However, this boom has brought in a lot of complications like credit card fraud, payment defaulting, unsolicited card and uncontrolled. As every service is internet bound in the present scenario, the researcher is interested in bringing out the customer satisfaction towards credit cards. With this emphasis the researcher has chosen this topic

Objectives Of The Study:-
The main objectives of the present study are outlined below  To measure the level of satisfaction of credit card holders.  To offer suggestions for further improvement.

Hypotheses
Hypothesis is a tentative proposition formulated for empirical testing. The study is explorative in nature. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher has framed the following hypotheses:  H 0 1: There exists no significant difference between the Gender and the level of satisfaction towards credit card services.  H 0 2: There exists no significant difference between the Age and the level of satisfaction towards credit card services.  H 0 3: There exists no significant difference between the Marital Status and the level of satisfaction towards credit card services.  H 0 4: There exists no significant difference between the occupation and the level of satisfaction towards credit card services.  H 0 5: There exists no significant difference between the income and the level of satisfaction towards credit card services.

Methodology:-
The study is based on both primary and secondary data.

Primary Data:-
The primary data needed for this study is collected from the sample customers through structured questionnaire.

Secondary Data:-
The Secondary data needed for study is collected from various magazines, articles published in newspapers and surfing through network.
Sampling Design:-In Sivakasi, an industrial town, TMB, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Banks and City Union Bank are prominently providing Credit Cards. From these five banks, the respondents will be interviewed for the study. From each bank 30 customers are contacted by applying convenient sampling method. Businessman, Salaried, Professional, Government Employees and House-wives are given due weightage in identifying the sample.

Statistical Tools:-
The researcher has applied statistical tools such as Percentages, Chi-square test, Scaling Techniques and Garrett Ranking to analyse the collected data.

Findings:-Demographic Profile Of The Respondents:-
The demographic profile of the respondents was obtained by using five parameters namely gender, age, marital status, occupation and monthly income. The same is presented in the Table 1 Table 1

Details Of Banking Transactions:-
The details of banking transactions were obtained by using four parameters namely type of account, purpose of account and period of operating the bank account and frequency of visit to the bank in a week. The same is exhibited in the Table 2 Table 2 exhibits that 46 per cent of the respondents are having savings account; a majority of 52 per cent of the respondents are general purpose user; 34 per cent of the respondents are maintaining their accounts between 3 years to 6 years of duration; 40 per cent of the respondents made a visit to the bank two times in a week.

Credit Card:-Products/ Services Availed Through Credit Cards
The respondents are asked to state the products and services availed through credit cards. The same is exhibited in Table 3. It is clear from the Table 3 that a 44 per cent of the respondents are using the credit card for purchasing consumer durables; 37 per cent of the respondents are use the credit card for rail/air ticket booking.

Reasons For Using Credit Cards
Respondents are asked to rank reasons for using credit card. Based on the ranks that the respondents awarded, the researcher has found the number of responses placed in each rank. Using Garrett Ranking Technique, the researcher has computed the Garrett score and allotted ranks accordingly. Table 4 demonstrates the result. Benefit of taking loan on card 7849 3 5 Low charge 6920 5 6 Avoid cash dealing 6661 7 7 Easy to carry and make payment 6862 6 Source: Computed Data Table 4 upshot that Benefit of reward points or cash back got the first rank with a maximum score of 8545; Benefit of extended payment period secured second rank with the score of 8002 and Avoid cash dealing occupied last rank with the minimum score of 6661.

Personal Profile And Level Of Satisfaction Of Customers Towards Credit Cards
Seven statements are framed to obtain level of satisfaction of customers towards credit card. Likert's five point scaling techniques has been used to determine the level of satisfaction. Table exhibited the number of respondents under various level of agreement towards the statements.

Chi Square Test:-
The level of agreement of the respondents towards credit card has been classified into three categories viz., low level, medium level and high level. In order to analyse the relationship between demographic profile of the respondents and their level of satisfaction towards credit cards, chi-square test has been employed. The calculated value of chi square is compared with the table value of chi square at 5% level of significance. If the calculated value of chi square test is more than the table value, the null hypothesis is rejected and vice versa.
Hypothesis Testing 1:-H 0 1: There exists no significant difference between the Gender and the level of satisfaction towards credit card services. Here Chi-Square test is used as a tool to test it.

Suggestions:-
 Credit limit amount allowed by bank may be extended to certain extent to the deserving Credit card holders.  Reduction of minimum eligibility criteria will attract the customers to obtain Credit Cards.  Charges for the credit cards should be nominal.  Awareness must be created about special offer available for maximum usage of credit cards.

Conclusion:-
Customer satisfaction in e-environment is determined by the website of the bank, efficiency of the bank, competency of the bank and information provided by the bank. Due to the complexity in the usage of credit cards, it is necessary to make the customers to know how to operate the credit cards for specific purpose. In order to facilitate the customers to carry the cards with them, effective protective measures must be taken to protect the cards against operational and security risk.