Eight months after barring HDFC Bank from selling new credit cards, the RBI has lifted the ban, banking sources said on Tuesday. However, the ban on launching new technology initiatives remains, the sources said.

In December last year, the RBI had come out with an unprecedented action implementing both the bans, after repeated instances of technological outages at the lender, which is the market leader in the credit cards segment. Rivals ICICI Bank and SBI Cards seized the opportunity to narrow the gap with HDFC Bank.

“A communication has been received by HDFC Bank regarding the lifting of the ban on credit cards on Tuesday,” one of the sources said. The bank had 1.48 crore credit card customers as of June.

The bank’s existing users were not impacted by the ban.

On July 17, chief executive and managing director Sashidhar Jagdishan had said the bank has complied with 85 per cent of the RBI’s requirements on the improvements desired, and the ball was now in the regulator’s court to allow the bank to issue new cards.

Earlier, its technology and credit card vertical had said the time off the market was utilised to re-draw processes and the teams were raring to go.

Jagdishan had said a technology audit is also over and the RBI will now be “independently” taking a view on when to lift the penal actions taken against the bank.

“We have given a milestone to the regulator in terms of what are the things we are doing on technology, complying with their advisories and directives.