Which is the right credit card you should apply for?

What is a credit card?
A card issued to someone (cardholder) on the basis of a line of credit and a supervised account, to grant access to the cardholder for payments to any merchant is called a credit card. Depending on the line of credit, the cardholder borrows this money for the payments being made for which he/she agrees to pay back the issuer along with interest for the transaction(s).

A credit card differs from a cash card. Since it is not necessary for the holder to clear the amount due at the end of the month; he/she can extend it as a recurring debt and clear it later, subject to a sum of interest.

Applying for a Credit card

When applying for credit cards in India or international banks one should adhere to the prescribed ‘Dos and Don’ts. For digitization of currency comes with great benefits but also a few setbacks. Therefore, one should form an analysis of the payments that he/she would be making using the card which will allow the user to apply for a particular category of credit cards. In today’s world, banks provide you with a variety of credit card options to choose from and as a rational customer you should apply for the category which provides you with the maximum utility.

Types of Credit card

The most common types of credit cards in India have been categorized based on a particular area of expenditure. A few common categories in practice are on the basis of:

1) Lifestyle - if you use the card mainly for shopping, dining out, etc. Lifestyle credit cards offer maximum utility as they are designed to reward you with bonuses and cash back.

2) Travel - credit cards providing you access to airport lounge facilities and other rewards on your tours and expeditions.

Customized cards for each Individual

Presently credit cards are personalized for an individual and while applying for one, do look up the benefits in store for you and whether or not it entails benefits that makes using the credit card more feasible. However, your credit score plays an important role here. The card you get is based on your credit score which is estimated by the bank.

A bank or the card issuing body forms a revolving account for the subscriber and associates it with a credit score which estimates the borrowing power of the cardholder. This procedure is the reason most people apply for a credit card in the same bank they have an account in. However, this puts you in a tricky spot as the bank might hold you liable in case of abnormal activities by your card (even when you are not involved in it). Such incidents have occurred with various clients in the past. This is why just applying for a credit card from the same bank might not always be the best option.

What are the different types of EMI calculator available in the financial market?

Loans offer a great financial benefit for those who can afford it and yet may not have the means to invest a large amount at one time. Furthermore, the variety of loans available in the market makes it easier for consumers to utilise this financial aid to its full potential. Take, for example; the personal loan can be utilised for several miscellaneous requirements, whereas the car loan can be used for the purchase of a car.

However, with the application of any loan, comes the responsibility to repay the loan. While you may be able to repay the borrowed amount, you will also need to keep track of the interest rate charged on the overall amount, and how much you will be paying for it on each EMI. Moreover, you will also need to ensure that you can afford the long tenure, or ensure that your disposable income is not completely diverted to the payments of the EMI.

These are plenty of factors to consider, and yet they play an influential role in affecting your loan application decision. So how can you take all these factors into consideration when calculating the ideal loan rates and factors? The EMI calculator is one tool that can benefit you. But for the right loan, you will need to use the right calculator to calculate EMI. To ensure that you are getting an affordable and convenient EMI for the loan you will apply for; you can use any of the following EMI calculators:

Home Loan EMI calculator: One of the most popular loan applications is the home loan. As plenty of individuals purchase a home as an investment or necessity, home loan EMI calculators will go a long way to ensuring you get the best of rates. With this tool, you can calculate EMI in terms of tenure, interest rate, principal amount and even get an amortisation table of the calculated result.

Car Loan EMI calculator: After the home loan, the car loan is the next popular loan choice. The car loan can differ on various points such as the status of the car, the inclusion of ad – on, which will be calculated on the loan amount and consequently into the EMIs, not including the down payment. By using the car loan EMI calculator, you can calculate the EMI’s in terms of the principal amount, interest amount and the ideal tenure that will take to repay the borrowed amount along with the additional funds.

Personal Loan EMI calculator: The personal loan can be used for several personal uses, such as financing a wedding, a trip or even something as small as purchasing a gadget. Like the other EMI loan calculators, it can be used to calculate the ideal borrowed amount, the best interest rate suited to your needs, and the tenure which is affordable for your repayment. 

While the loan options may differ in accordance with your requirements, it is best to use this tool to ensure that you are well aware of the affordability of the loan. Furthermore, you can use these loan calculators to ensure that you safe sufficient funds on a month to month basis.

Never ever make a late credit card payment with these tips

Credit cards are a great way to manage your funds, especially when it comes to making expenditures on a regular basis, or from a single outlet. However, when it comes to the credit card payment you may face an instance of delayed payment, or even keep track of the due date payment. In either case, you will incur an additional payment, which you can easily avoid. Furthermore, you can avoid the possibility of impacting your credit score, with these incidences.

Here are a few steps you can follow to avoid making any late credit card payments in the near future:

Set up auto payment: This is one of the most convenient and advantageous feature any credit card holder has. This is especially beneficial for those who are well aware of the expenditures made in each month. If the expenditures are fixed, then the card holder can assign this amount to be paid before the due date arrives. To make this step, the account holder would need to contact the lending bank, and opt for the automatic payment option. If you opt for this option, ensure you track the payments after a few months so that you ensure that your account is not misused in any way.

Pay off the bills before the due dates: Delays and penalty payments occur only because the card holder is not aware of the due date. Plenty of distractions or even incidences may distract you, causing your to lose track of the due date. To avoid this credit card payment, the trick here is to pay the credit card payment well before the due date. Ideally, it is best to make the payments at least three to five days after you have made a purchase on the card. If you must have to make multiple payments, do so, as in the long run, it will help you avoid a late payment or delay.

Change your due date: Very often the due date of your credit card payment will be lost amongst the other bill payments. In this way, you lose track of the dues to be paid, and then incur a penalty or added charges. This is normally the cause if your credit card payment is due at the end of the month, the same time where every other bill payment is due. To avoid this situation, you should shift your card payment due date to the first few weeks of the month. The best time to do so is when your salary gets deposited so as to make the payment immediately and avoid any chances of missing it. Furthermore, avoid keeping the due date in the last week of the month.

Sign up for alerts: Signing up for alerts is an ideal choice if you are constantly on your emails or on your phone. You can easily set up a calendar alert or an email alert to make the payment. Furthermore, you can easily track if you have made a payment or not in the previous month.

What are the key steps to getting a small business loan?

Starting a business is as tricky as maintaining one. For one, you need to ensure that your business gets the financial start to move ahead. Furthermore, it would require additional funds to keep your business running, especially during times of expansion, or a new launch of another product.

But while there are several financial products available in the market, business loans make for an ideal choice of financial investment. Not only are they custom made to suit the requirements of your business, they also offer a flexible repayment tenure in accordance with your business’s functioning. Furthermore, they are easily to avail, if you approach the right financial institute or bank.

Here are the different steps you need to follow in order to get small business loan:

Step 1: Understanding the different business loans available

In the financial market, there are multiple types of business loans available. These variety of loans will vary on factors such as your business needs, tenure of the loan, and specific terms of the loan. Through this business loan, you can access a small business line of credit or opt for working capital to finance fluctuations in revenues and expenses depending on seasonality fluctuations. You can even opt for a loan amount that will suit your businesses requirements, and only pay an interest and repayment for that which you use only.

Step 2: Look out for available lenders

Plenty of lenders offer business loans, to businesses both small and big. They are available both online as well as at an institute near you. Some of these lenders include the direct online lenders which cater to small businesses, local community banks that offer a business loan to local businesses.

Step 3: Anticipate how the lender will view your profile.

Normally lenders normally make the ultimate judgement call on whether they should approve a business loan’s application based. This decision is normally based on the borrower’s credit and risk profile. In addition to this, lenders will normally consider additional factors such as the credit score, outstanding loans, cash flows, assets in the business and time in the business amongst many others. Keeping these factors in mind, you can get a vague idea of what you can expect when it comes to your financial profile and thus improve it in the relevant factor.

Step 4: Keep your financial statements in order

Depending on the size of the loan you will be applying for, the lender will consider your financial statements and accounting records. Under this, factors such as your business’s cash flow, gross margin, debt – to – equity ratio and accounts payable amongst many others. You must ensure that it is complete, correct and thorough, and be well aware to answer any question asked by the lender on any of the topics.

Travel card: Know the benefits of cashless travelling

A travel trip abroad will require immense planning, especially in terms of financial expenditures. The first step you need to take is to opt for the best financial instrument that you can utilise during your holiday. While the most obvious option here is to carry physical currency, it may not be the best one. Even traditional options such as the travellers cheques are now outdated.

Nowadays, individuals are now opting to use the travel card for trips abroad. These travel cards, also known as forex cards, are the most recommended financial instruments. These cards function like a normal prepaid banking card. However, unlike other banking cards, you can access the funds on the card through multiple foreign currencies.

In addition to these factors, there are several other benefits you can gain from this travel card, such as:
Portability and convenience: One of the most important profits of the forex travel cards is arguable, the convenience and portability it offers as opposed to physical cash. This card also offers the ideal substation for those who would like to avoid the confusion regarding various denominations in foreign currency. Furthermore, this card can also be used to withdraw foreign currency from ATM’s at a substantial amount, as compared to other banking cards.

Access to a large amount of funds: One of the drawbacks of travelling with cash, is the restricted amount you can carry. You are eligible to carry cash equivalent to only US$25,00 abroad as per the government travel regulations. While this may seem like an immense amount, to others it is a restriction, especially for business travels. In this case, opting for a travel card would prove to be a better option. You can store a lot of funds on the card, with the option to reload the card whenever the funds run out. All you need is to contact your bank, and request for the specific amount to be transferred to your card.

Safety: All travel cards come equipped with a magnetic strip, in order to access the data on your card and hence the accounts. Additionally, a unique PIN must also be inputted in order to access the funds. However, these features alone do not offer the ideal protection. Nowadays, in addition to these features, most of the travel cards also comes equipped with the embedded chip which decrypts each transaction you make, preventing any outside access from decrypting it.

Global acceptance: The usage of credit or debit cards would incur heavy fees, especially with high conversion charges. However, the travel card offers the ideal protection against these conversion rates, making them a popular option for both users and merchant outlets. Furthermore, plenty of outlets does not accept banking cards. In this case, one would only need to approach an ATM and withdraw the required physical cash to make the payments.

Are you aware of these 4 saving account categories?

Earning an income, or multiple incomes aren't sufficient today. You now also need to invest your funds appropriately to make the most of your earnings. Today, the best way to invest your earnings is by investing it in a bank account, namely the savings account. But what does this account offer over the other bank accounts?

For one, you will earn a return on the investment you provide. This rate is normally higher than the rate of inflation, in order to keep the appropriate value of your financial investments stable throughout the years. Additionally, the latest online saving account opening offers features that offer quick links to various facilities such as pay bills or quick transactions just by logging into your account online. Furthermore, they offer an excellent amount regarding the liquidity of funds.

As you can see, the saving account offers the ideal investment tool for all your earning. But to fully utilise your income, especially if you are looking for a higher returns or benefits, you will need to invest in the right saving account category. These categories offer different features and benefits, for different segments of the earning individuals. Some of the popular categories offered by the bank include:
Regular savings account: This account reflects the banks most basic terms and conditions. In this case, this account does not see regular deposits or consistent amounts or regular withdrawals. Normally, it can be used as a safe wherein which, the account holder can use to whenever required.

Salary based savings account: Normally large companies opt for this form of a savings account as it offers the ideal solution for large disbursals. Furthermore, banks offer companies preferential rates and specific terms for these types of accounts. It would be individually handled by each of the latter’s employees. When the salary disbursal date approached, banks will withdraw funds from the company’s account and disburse the required amount, within the salary based savings account, allotted to the employees. However, a consistent amount of deposit must be maintained, else, within three months of the stop of crediting, the accounts will be changed to a regular savings account.

Senior Citizens savings account: This account is specifically designed to meet the requirements and offer benefits for individuals in the senior citizen categories. They function similarly to the regular account. Hence there is no requirement for another online saving account opening when an existing account can be easily converted into a senior citizens account.  However, they offer a higher interest rate along with custom benefits. Furthermore, these accounts can be linked with other senior citizen schemes, such as retirement’s investments, or pension fund deposits. Thus all the funds can be consolidated in one single bank account.

Saving accounts for children and minors: This account functions in the same basic way as a regular savings account. This account offers the ideal situation to encourage the younger generation to invest their savings, giving them a higher sense of financial responsibility. Normally, a joint account holder, such as a parent or guardian will supervise the usage.

Demat Account: Steps to keep in mind when opening an account

Digitisation is slowly taking over the country, influencing even the industry of the stock market. Over the last few decades, the traditional form of trading stock on an open floor, with the physical holding of shareholder certifications has slowly faded out.

Now, trades can be made online where your stocks can be stored in a dematerialized form, in a demat account. Without this account, you will not be able to purchase or trade stock.

So how to open demat account? Here are some steps you can follow to begin this process:

Step 1: Approach the depository participant (DP) that offers you stock market trading facilities of your choice. Get an account opening form and fill it with the appropriate details along with passport sized photographs.

Step 2: Submit the relevant documents along with your filled form. It would need to include:
• Proof of identity: You will need to submit your PAN card, voter’s ID, passport, driver’s license or any ID card with the applicant’s photo issued by the appropriate government institute.
• Proof of address: You will need to submit your ration card, passport, voter ID, driving license, or bank passbook or bank statement. It could also include any document with an address issued by the central or state government.
During this process, an in – person verification process will be carried out by the member of the DP’s staff. In this process, the details that you have been provided will be cross verified. Once these documents have been verified by the appropriate banking institute, you can then proceed to the next step.

Step 3: You will be then provided with a copy of the rules and regulations. It will also include the terms of the agreement and charges you will incur for the application process.

Step 4: Once your application has been processed, the DP will provide you with an account number, which is also known as the client ID. You can use the details to access your demat account online as per your convenience. 

Step 5: Once your account is set, you will need to make certain payments. This would include fees such as the annual maintenance fee, which is levied for the maintenance of the account. A transaction fee will also be levied for debiting securities, to and from the account. This is normally charged on a monthly basis. Furthermore, if you need to rematerialize your stocks, see what are the charges for the process are. All the while, ensure that you are well aware of the how the transactions are charged.

Step 6: Now that you are aware on how to open demat account, you can begin to start trading stocks as per your requirements. You need not have any balance or minimum shares to maintain your stock.