Do you know what prepaid forex cards are?

When you are travelling abroad, these forex cards are used in order to make payments and make your travel convenient. Forex cards are pre-loaded and these let you access money in the required local currency. The better part of forex cards is that you can always top them up as per your cash requirement.  If you want to withdraw cash in the foreign currency you can always do that with this card. At the same time you can also check your balance and shop. There are many banks in India that offer forex travel cards they are ICICI banks, HDFC bank, SBI bank, Standard Chartered Banks, Axis banks offer forex cards.

How do you apply for a forex card and is there a limit on them?

Form A2 requires to be submitted by you and at the same time any other required forex document as is mandated under the Foreign exchange management act regulations, some other documents needed to be submitted are proof of passport and required funds. The card gets activated only when the funds are cleared or paid to the bank. If in case you are planning for a trip you can load up the card with a maximum of Rs 4.5 lakhs or $10,000. If in case you are undertaking a business trip, you have a limit of Rs 11.25 lakhs or $25,000. The banks charge Rs 100 to Rs 300 per card and this charge varied from one bank to the other.

Are these better than the other cards that are available?

A service charge of 3% for each usage is levied on the debit and credit cards and if in case you are withdrawing from ATMs, it would attract a flat withdrawal fee of Rs 300. You have ti be prepared to be billed at the exchange rate prevailing on the date you are converting the money and you will also be charged according to the conversion rate. Also you have to be swift enough to pay all your bills on time because any delay in the bill payment will attract a penalty of 2.95 percent every month. There travellers cheques are accepted at limited outlets and therefore when compared to the other options forex cards are economical because the exchange rates get locked on the day the transaction was done. Just because the forex cards are available in a lot many currencies you can avoid currency conversion as well that will in turn save you a lot of money.

Does the use of the forex cards get impacted by the exchange rates?

Of course it does. You have to be very careful of the exchange rates when you are doing a transaction with a forex card.

Health Insurance: All you need to know

Health is the most important aspect of our lives Everyday people are constantly being made aware of the importance of good health and the benefits of living healthy. However nothing is certain on the surface of this earth and not even our health. There is bound to be uncertainty in every phase of our life and our health too is bound to have its own issues.

We do fall sick due to flu  or sometimes even some major illness and sometimes even worse things befall for instance one might be involved in some gruesome accidents. Whatever the case may be, when these things strike us, they do at a time when they are least expected and we are not left with a choice but to squander all our savings behind them and in worst cases, it might even push us to absolute bankruptcy. The hospital fees and laboratory costs, the fees of the doctor are forever on the rise. Therefore opting for a health insurance seems really sensible in today’s day and age. Sometimes a health insurance may cost a lot but not having one might cost us even more. When one has met with an accident the hospital bills are more than enough to empty our pockets, let alone the medicine costs. If cancer is taken into considerations things are even worse with the costly chemotherapy, the regular doctor check-ups, lab tests, it could drain one completely in the matters of money.

If one has a health insurance it could help you get rid of the costs of regular medical check-ups, surgeries, contact lenses, glasses and even emergency treatments. Before one goes in for a health insurance it's mandatory that he or she knows everything about it.

There are two main kinds of a health insurance plan. They are the indemnity plan and the managed care plan namely.

The indemnity plan is also called the fee for service plan. This health insurance has wider freedom and flexibility in the choices of the insured. He/she can pick the doctor, hospitals, labs and other medical service providers. This can be done only when the medical service is included in the contract. But the main hitch with the plan is that the indemnity health insurance doesn’t pay up for all the charges, in this case the insured has to shoulder 20% pf the payment. The indemnity health insurance plan just covers illnesses and accidents however diseases like flu shots and birth control are not included.

In the case of managed care health insurance, it is quite a lot different from the indemnity health insurance plan, firstly the choice of the doctors and hospitals is limited to only those who have contracts with the HMO and also preventive care and mental health treatment is covered by the health insurance plan.

All you need to know about NRE fixed deposits

Here are the main highlights of an NRE fixed deposit account

This is the rupee fixed deposit for foreign earnings; one can enjoy full repatriability of investment including the interest with an NRE fixed deposit account. The interests earned in the accounts are not taxable in India and the best part is loans  of up to 90% of your deposit at attractive interest rates.

Now let's have a look and get an understanding of what NRE fixed deposits actually are

NRE fixed deposits are a high return rupee deposit option to invest your foreign income.

Why should one choose an NRE fixed deposit account?

There are numerous benefits if one chooses an NRE fixed deposit account , with these accounts you earn high tax-free interest  and also get the facility of free repatriability on al;l your foreign earnings  plus a plan up to 90% of your deposit at attractive interest rates.

Let us dive into the features and benefits of the NRE fixed deposit accounts as well.

With NRE fixed deposits the customers can enjoy a high level of flexibility; you can fund your account with any convertible currency. You are also entitled to a lower deposit amount of Rs 25,000. The renewal process to is simple and without a lot of hassles, the principle and the interest earned gets automatically renewed when matured.

There are competitive exchange rates when you want to convert your foreign currency into rupees and the movement of the money too is convenient, they are freely repatriable. All the interest earned on the NRE fixed deposit account is non-taxable in India. The loan options too are excessively alluring with loans up to a 90% of the deposit at attractive interest rates and maximum INR 500 lakhs. The processing of the NRE accounts is quick as well with EDC-A (Electronic Deposit Confirmation Advise) on your email Id within 1 working day but this is possible only when you have subscribed to the account statement through email id option.

The main documents that are required to open an NRE fixed deposit account are self-attested photocopies of passport, valid work permit or employment visa or residence visa or residence permit and proper address proofs.

When you will be submitting the application for the account opening from outside India, you will require photocopies of the undermentioned documents that have it be self-attested by the document holder as well as attested by a banker or a notary or an embassy official or a consulate official – The first and last four pages of your passport, your valid work permit , employment visa, residence visa and residence permit and other address proofs.

When all these documentation have been done and duly submitted without any issues, you are on your way to get your NRE fixed deposit account.

All you need to know about NRO accounts

These are the key highlights for an NRO account or the Non-resident ordinary accounts in India.

You can land your money from your foreign earnings in India.

With an NRO bank account you can avail of free money transfers at competitive exchange rates. You can also add an Indian resident as a joint holder of your bank account.  As an NRO account holder you are also entitled to get a free mandate card and cheque book for your family in India and due to this you can also provide them access to your bank accounts anytime and anywhere.

Now let us get into the details of what exactly is an NRO account

An NRO account or a Non-resident ordinary account is a savings account that enables you to maintain your income earned in India such as rent dividends, pension so on and so forth.

Why should one go for an NRO account?

Non-resident Indians should go for an NRO account because of the assurance it gives to manage the local rupee earnings in India efficiently even as you are living your life abroad. You can also easily predesignate your account when you change the status from resident to a no resident Indian.

Now lets us dive right into the characteristics and the benefits of having NRO accounts

There is a much higher yield post tax, one can avail of this benefit by the DTAA benefit facility.

Anyone who holds an NRO account can avail of low cost and hassle free money transfers which are readily available through myriad offline and online modes at competitive exchange rates.
Another benefit is that not much balance is required to maintain the NRO account, just Rs 10,000 is required to do the needful.

With the help of a domestic ATM cum debit card  you can have anytime and anywhere access to your NRO account at over 11000 ATMs and over 3000 branches  all over India plus one has the facility of the phone banking and 24x7 net banking as well.

The interest rates calculated on daily closing balances are at 4% per annum and the interest is paid on a half yearly basis and in the months of June and Decembver. The interest that is earned in the current financial year is completely repatriable but this is only after the tax has been deducted.

Another benefit is the safe and simple online money transfer tracking service with online transfer to over 100 banks in India.

An NRO account can also have a joint holding with an Indian resident or an NRI; what’s more you can also predesignate your NRO account when you become an NRI however your account number doesn’t change.

Here’s all you need to know to know about NRE accounts

The key highlights of a Non-Resident External (NRE accounts) are as follows: This is a safe way to land your foreign income earned outside India.

The money transfers are free and at competitive exchange rates

You can enjoy full repatriable of your money and earn tax-free interest in India.

You can also get a free mandate card and cheque book for your family in India and this can help you provide them anytime anywhere access to your account.

Now lets us know what exactly is an NRE account - an NRE or a non-resident external account is a saving account maintained in where you invest your foreign income earned outside India.

Why should one opt for an NRE account?

An NRE account lets the account holder enjoy tax-free interest and full repatriable of funds and also because of the fact that this is the most convenient way to use your foreign earnings in India.

Let's dive right into the other benefits and characteristics if an NRE account

No interest amount that you have earned in India on of your foreign money is taxable.

All the funds in an NRE account are fully repatriable and they are not charged for repatriation.

The minimum monthly account balance needed to maintain an NRE account is just Rs 10,000.

With an international Debit card you can access your bank account at over 11000 ATMS and over 3000 branches all over India and phone and the 24x7 net banking as well.

The interest rates that are calculated are done on daily closing balances at 4% per annum; the interest is paid to you half yearly in the month of June and December.

The money transfer service of your foreign money to the banks or financial institutions in India is safe secure and easy. You can transfer your money to over 100 banks in India and you can also track your transfers.

You can hold a joint account with another NRI as well.
There are a lot of other benefits as well, there are free cheque books and ATM cards for the mandate holder and what’s more there are also handpicked exclusive offers that are designed especially for the NRE account holders that cater to all your need when you are in India and abroad. Not to forget the free PO Box facility that is available to send documents.

The monthly average balance that is required to maintain an NRE account is just Rs 10,000 at an account level and you have to keep a minimum balance of Rs 25000 at a customer id level, if in case for some reason you are not able to maintain this balance at a savings bank account level services charges will be levied on your account.

Do you know how to open an NRI account from overseas?

All non-resident Indians are allowed to open non-resident accounts external accounts and non-residential ordinary accounts so that they are able to open savings bank account or fixed deposits with different banks in India.  However, it is quite evident that many NRI’s find it very difficult to visit banks in India in order to complete their banking formalities which are why their bank account information is impeded. In order to combat this issue, they can now open their bank accounts from the comfort of their homes overseas by just following these simple steps.

Download the form – The form for no n fact to face account opening is now made available on websites of almost all the banks. Whichever NRI wishes to open a bank account has to first download the form and fill it up so that the account can be opened. Some banks also provide the user with the facility to fill up the form online so that one doesn’t have to download it.

Attestation – some of the documents have to be attested by the Indian consulate as is the prerequisite for most banks for the opening of an NRI account. An NRI can get the documents attested from the consulate or an overseas bank or make it notarized from a foreign notary. If you wish to submit additional approved proof with self-attestation that is allowed as well.

Additional Know your customer – Some banks might want the applicant for the NRI account to fill up the document that pertains to the KYC or the “Know your customer”  in order to disclose the tax residency status  and related details under the  Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Common Reporting Standard(CRS) requirements. For this some additional proof needs to be submitted to the bank which would have to be submitted along with the documents that are mandatory for the opening of the bank account and the account opening form.

Dispatch – now once all the aforementioned steps have been done, all the documents duly stamped and signed 9one has to cross check several times so that nothing that is required is missing. Because if anything is missing, the banks will reject the documents and they will be asked to send them once again after rectifying their mistakes which might end up in being an unwieldy and lengthy procedure) once the cross checking has been done and all the documents are in place, they have to be sent or dispatched to the bank branch. Alternatively some of the banks provide PO box services in certain countries where the NRI can drop the application in a PO Box with a PO Box number.

Do you want an education loan? Here’s how you can avail it.

Whether you are buying a house or about to be going in for higher education, loans are common today. The college fees are increasing every year a lot of the people don’t really have any option, they have to apply for an educational loan. For instance the engineering courses, the fees could be Rs 5 to 10 lakhs and if one wants to pursue a medical degree in a  private medical college, the cost will go up to Rs 50 lakhs. For postgraduate courses on management and other courses as well, the fees can shoot up to more than Rs 10 lakhs.

It is not unknown that fees in private colleges are more than the fees in government colleges.
When going in for educational loans it is advisable to do a proper research so that you know pretty well what you are exactly looking for. Banks offer educational loans up to Rs 10 lakhs for courses in colleges in India, and a sum of up to 20 lakhs for studying abroad and these payout of loans are in absolute accordance with the banks’ association norms, however in case of post graduate courses in premier management colleges in India for instance IIM or   institute of Management, banks offer loans up to Rs 20 lakhs. These loans cover the tuition fees, examination fees, library fees, laboratory fees and hostel fees and they cover the costs for purchasing books, equipment, instruments and uniform, travel expenses for studies abroad, caution deposit or refundable deposit so on and so forth. There are at times limits on them and the education loan also covers expenses for the project tours and study tours.

What are the conditions for sanctioning the loan?
The lender checks on safe things before the loan is sanctioned. The first and foremost check that is carried out by the lender is to be sure whether the student who applied for the loan has actually enrolled or secured admission for a course or not, after that the quality of the course and the college will also be taken into consideration whether it si certified by UGC or any other university of technical education. The lender also checks whether after doing a course the student will be able to get himself a secured job so that the repayment of the loan is a breeze. The lender also checks the credit history of the co-applicant or the guarantor. At times some education loans are backed by property mortgage, in such cases the lender will also thoroughly check the value of the property.

When an education loan is availed from a bank, loans for tuition fees, examinations, library and every other charge are directly paid to the educational institutions.