The card lights up during every tap-to-pay transaction using the POS terminal's NFC field - no battery required. But behind the LED is a rewards overhaul that may matter more to everyday cardholders.
Key Highlights
- India's first co-branded LED credit card - LED lights up on tap using NFC power from POS terminal. No battery in the card.
- Annual fee ₹499, waived on ₹3 lakh annual spend. Welcome benefit: EazyDiner membership worth ₹695.
- LED version carries an additional ₹999 one-time fee, waived for CheQ customers until 31 May 2026.
- Dual network: Visa (online/global) + RuPay (UPI/offline QR). One card covers all spend scenarios.
- Up to 12% rewards on Apple, Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, BigBasket; 5% on everyday spends; 2.5% on UPI via RuPay.
- Applications open on CheQ app from 28 April 2026.
CheQ, India's leading credit management platform, announced on 15 April 2026 the launch of the CheQ AU Credit Card in partnership with AU Small Finance Bank - India's largest small finance bank - marking the first co-branded credit card in the country to feature an LED-powered tap-to-pay interaction.
The LED embedded in the card lights up during every contactless transaction, drawing power directly from the POS terminal's NFC field. No battery is installed in the card itself. The feature delivers instant visual confirmation at checkout - a first for the Indian credit card market, where physical card design has remained largely unchanged for over two decades.
Aditya Soni, Founder and CEO of CheQ, said in the press release: 'For something people use every day, credit cards have remained largely unchanged. The LED is a small but deliberate shift to make the experience more visible and intuitive, but behind it is a system designed for how people actually spend today - with rewards that are simple and genuinely usable.'
For cardholders, the more consequential change is in the rewards architecture. Most credit cards in India maintain separate rewards currencies across partner brands, with redemption processes that require navigating multiple portals. The CheQ AU card consolidates everything into a single CheQ Points currency redeemable instantly within the CheQ app - against gift cards across 40 brands, flight and hotel bookings on CheQ Travel, or credit card and utility bill payments.
The CheQ app: Reward Architecture
| Spend Category | Reward Rate | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Premium partners | 12% rewards | Apple, Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, BigBasket, CheQ Travel, bill payments via CheQ |
| Everyday spends | 5% rewards | Food delivery, online shopping, quick commerce, travel |
| UPI via RuPay | 2.5% rewards | QR-code payments at offline merchants via BHIM/GPay/PhonePe |
| Annual fee | ₹499 + GST | Waived on ₹3 lakh annual spend |
| LED card fee | ₹999 one-time | Waived for CheQ customers until 31 May 2026 |
| Welcome benefit | ₹695 value | EazyDiner Prime membership |
| Application opens | 28 April 2026 | Via CheQ app only |
Source: CheQ / AU Small Finance Bank press release, 15 April 2026.
From Bill Payments to Card Issuance - CheQ's Platform Shift
The launch represents a material expansion of CheQ's business model. The platform originally grew as a credit card bill payment and management tool - helping users track due dates, manage multiple cards, and optimise repayments. It now counts over 15 million credit cards and 4 million users on its platform. The CheQ AU Credit Card marks its entry into card issuance, transforming the company from an aggregator of credit card data into a card issuer in its own right.
The dual-network structure - Visa for international and online transactions, RuPay for UPI-linked QR-code payments - is a deliberate design choice that mirrors the broader industry trend of embedding credit card spending into India's dominant payment behaviour. With RuPay credit cards approaching 40% of new card issuances nationally, issuers that support UPI at launch are better positioned to capture the offline, tier-2 and tier-3 city spend that is driving the next wave of credit card growth.
Sanjay Agarwal, Founder, MD and CEO of AU Small Finance Bank, said: 'With this LED credit card, we are introducing a product that engages new-age, high credit-worthy customers with a differentiated value proposition - setting new benchmarks in innovation, smart rewards, and design.'
What to Look Forward To
The card enters a competitive mid-market segment - ₹499 annual fee, waived at ₹3 lakh spend - where it competes directly with cards like HDFC Millennia, Axis Ace, and SBI SimplyCLICK. Its differentiators are the unified rewards system and the LED novelty, which, while functionally minor, has significant branding value in a market where payment experience is increasingly a consideration in card selection.
The integrated CheQ Travel platform - available exclusively to CheQ AU Credit Card holders - is the feature most worth monitoring. If the platform delivers on a lowest price guarantee for flight and hotel bookings and enables instant point redemption at checkout, it could replicate the embedded travel booking experience that has driven retention for cards like Axis Magnus and HDFC Infinia. How well the travel platform executes will determine whether this card is a novelty launch or a retention-capable product.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. All card features, fees, and benefits are subject to change. Data sourced from CheQ and AU Small Finance Bank press release dated 15 April 2026.
