All About Internet Banking

Internet banking or E-banking implies that any user or a bank customer who has a personal computer and a browser to his or her bank account through the website of his or her bank so that they can carry out any of the virtual banking procedures. In the internet banking system the database of the bank is centralised and is web enabled.  All the services that the bank has allowed to carry out on the internet are displayed in the menu of the bank website. Out of these services the desired service can be selected, going further the interaction between the computer and the internet banking website is dictated by the kind of service that is being performed. The conventional model of a bank is now being replaced by alternative delivery channels and ATM networks.

Once the branches of the banks are connected together by the satellites links there would be no physical bank branch.  It would be more of a border less entity that would allow anytime anywhere and anyhow banking.

This is how the internet banking in India works –

1. Information only system – general information for instance the  interest rates, bank products, branch location, loan and fixed deposit calculators are provided for in the bank's website. There are also facilities for downloading various kinds of application forms. The communication between the customer and the bank is normally done through email. There is absolutely no interaction between the customer and the bank’s application system. And the best part is that in this system there is no possibility that any unauthorised person will get into the bank system through the internet.
   
2. Electronic information transfer system – The internet banking system in India provides customer specific information which includes account balances account summaries and bank statements. The information is largely in the read only format. The customer is identified and authenticated through a password. The information that the customer is looking for us fetched from the computer system in an offline mode or a batch mode.
   
3. Fully electronic transactional system - This system in the internet banking allows bi-directional capacities. The customer can submit the transaction for online update. This system calls for a huge security and control and in such an environment the web server and application systems are linked to secure infrastructure. A technologically advanced computerisation, networking and security, intra-bank payment gateway and legal infrastructure are what it is comprised of.
   
4. ATM or the Automated Teller Machine – it is designed to perform the most important function of the bank. It is made operational by a plastic card with special features and this plastic card cuts down on the cheques, banking hour restriction, long queues, paper verification and other formalities. These are electronic debit cards

These are a few points that are worth noting when it comes to internet banking.

All you need to know about bike insurance

Is there anything more exciting than riding your trusted bike through the city roads? Not really. In fact, for most riders, their bike is a reflection of their personality. Which is why insuring your bike is the best way to show it some love. Having two-wheeler insurance saves you against the financial loss you might face if your bike was wrecked in an accident or worse, stolen. After all, no one needs that kind of negativity in their life.

There are two kinds of bike insurance

Comprehensive insurance - This covers damages to the third party, as well as your own bike. It is best for those wanting to cover for losses from incidents such as theft and natural disasters.

Third party liability insurance - It covers only the damages to a third party and their property. It's best for those insuring their bikes only because it's mandatory (but we wouldn't recommend that!).

What is included in bike insurance?

Damages that might happen to your bike in an accident, Personal Accident Cover - if you (the owner-driver) are injured in a bike accident, the insurer compensates you. All the financial protection to your bike from natural calamities such as floods, earthquakes, etc. is also covered. In case your two-wheeler gets stolen, your insurer will pay an amount equal to your bike’s IDV. Coverage for damages caused during a man-made disaster. This includes riots; strikes, fire, and terrorism all of which are covered.

What is excluded in bike insurance?

Damages caused if you were caught riding under the influence of alcohol. Loss and damages that may be caused because of a war or nuclear strike, accident related damages caused while you were riding your bike for illegal activities. Damages caused or losses incurred to your bike while you were riding it without a license. Regular mechanical expenses due to consistent wear and tear are also not covered under bike insurance.

Bike insurance is simple fast and simple. Some websites even give you the opportunity to renew your bike insurance online instantly and all this even if your policy has expired.

There is a also a multi bike insurance. Do you know what it is?

A normal bike insurance are designed for one year and has to be renewed annually, on the other hand a multi bike insurance allows bikes to be insured up to  three consecutive years at a time. The policy holders do not have to renew the insurance contract after every year. This is because they receive a policy certificate for maximum of three year cover.

Do you know what is NEFT?

National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) is a nation-wide payment system facilitating one-to-one funds transfer. Under this Scheme, individuals, firms and corporates can electronically transfer funds from any bank branch to any individual, firm or corporate having an account with any other bank branch in the country participating in the Scheme.

Another important question is whether all bank branches in the country part of the NEFT funds transfer network?

For being part of the NEFT funds transfer network, a bank branch has to be NEFT- enabled. The list of bank-wise branches which are participating in NEFT is provided in the website of Reserve Bank of India at http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/neft.aspx

Who can transfer funds using NEFT?

Individuals, firms or corporates maintaining accounts with a bank branch can transfer funds using NEFT. Even such individuals who do not have a bank account (walk-in customers) can also deposit cash at the NEFT-enabled branches with instructions to transfer funds using NEFT. However, such cash remittances will be restricted to a maximum of Rs.50,000/- per transaction. Such customers have to furnish full details including complete address, telephone number, etc. NEFT, thus, facilitates originators or remitters to initiate funds transfer transactions even without having a bank account.

Who can receive funds through the NEFT system?

Individuals, firms or corporates maintaining accounts with a bank branch can receive funds through the NEFT system. It is, therefore, necessary for the beneficiary to have an account with the NEFT enabled destination bank branch in the country.
The NEFT system also facilitates one-way cross-border transfer of funds from India to Nepal. This is known as the Indo-Nepal Remittance Facility Scheme. A remitter can transfer funds from any of the NEFT-enabled branches in to Nepal, irrespective of whether the beneficiary in Nepal maintains an account with a bank branch in Nepal or not. The beneficiary would receive funds in Nepalese Rupees.

Is there any limit on the amount that could be transferred using NEFT?

No. There is no limit – either minimum or maximum – on the amount of funds that could be transferred using NEFT. However, maximum amount per transaction is limited to Rs.50,000/- for cash-based remittances within India and also for remittances to Nepal under the Indo-Nepal Remittance Facility Scheme.

Whether the system is centre-specific or has any geographical restriction?

No. There is no restriction of centres or of any geographical area within the country. The NEFT system takes advantage of the core banking system in banks. Accordingly, the settlement of funds between originating and receiving banks takes places centrally at Mumbai, whereas the branches participating in NEFT can be located anywhere across the length and breadth of the country.

What are the operating hours of NEFT?

Presently, NEFT operates in hourly batches - there are twelve settlements from 8 am to 7 pm on week days (Monday through Friday) and six settlements from 8 am to 1 pm on Saturdays.

Everything about FDs

Fixed deposit or FDs is a very safe and secure investment option that allows you to invest your money for a specific time span and at a fixed rate of interest. During the tenure of your FD even of the rate of interest of the FDs go up or down, you will; have it pay to same rate of interest that was decided during your initial investment procedure.

The Fixed deposit accounts pay a higher rate of interest than the savings bank account. All the other conditions are equal; you would definitely be in a much better position if you put your money into an FD account instead of a savings bank account. The interest can be paid to your quarterly or half yearly or annually. If in case you are a senior citizen the rate of interest on your FD might even go up.

There are two kinds of FDs-
Bank and Non-banking financial institutions FD – This kind of Fixed deposits are offered by banks and non-banking finance companies the RB regulates th4ese institutions.

Corporate FDs - These are offered by the companies that are in the hunt to raise money from the open market. Corporate FDs give you a higher rate of interest but at the same time it also has a higher risk quotient when compared to the bank FDs.

Here are the Pros –
FDs give a safe return – FDs are more than secure and very low-risk investments, bank FDs are guaranteed up to Rs 1 Lakh by the deposit insurance and the credit guarantee corporation.

You can take a loan against your FD -
You can borrow up to 85% of the FD amount in some banks this can happen only after a few months of the existence of your FD however this is valid only for Bank Fds and not the NBFC FDs or the Corporate FDs.

Low maintain –
Unlike other investments like stocks, mutual funds or real estate, you do not have to keep an eye on your FDs daily or monthly or undertake any kind of risks or maintenance work.

Here are some of the cons-

Low Returns –
The FDs are very low-risk investments and hence even though the returns are guaranteed they are on the lower side especially when compared to the other investment options like stocks, shares and real estate.

Lock ups –
once you create an FD account and you deposit your amount in your account for the decided tenure, you cannot withdraw the amount before the expiry of the tenure. If the e arises and you do have to withdraw each you have to pay the penalty for pre-withdrawals which would include a reduced interest rate and charges around 1% of the amount that we invested.

Everything you need to know about online tax payment

Nowadays you don’t need to fill up cumbersome details or wait in the queue with other tax payers to pay your tax. You can pay your tax online.  To pay taxes online, you have to log in to the http://www.tin-nsdl.com > Services > e-payment: Pay Taxes Online or you just have to click the tab "E-pay taxes" provided on the said website. Provide a proper link of e-payment.

The next step would be to select the pertaining challan i.e. ITNS 280, ITNS 281, ITNS 282, ITNS 283, ITNS 284 or Form 26 QB demand payment (only for TDS on the sale of property) as applicable.
Once that is done you have to punch in the PAN / TAN (as applicable) and other mandatory challan intricate details like accounting head under which payment has been made, the address of the person who is paying the tax and the bank through which payment is to be done etc.

When you have submitted the data that you had entered, there will be a confirmation screen will be displayed. If PAN / TAN is valid as per the ITD PAN / TAN master, then the full name of the taxpayer as per the master will be displayed on the confirmation screen.

On confirmation of the data so entered, the next step will be that you or the taxpayer will be directed to the net-banking website of the particular bank.

The taxpayer has to login to the net-banking site with the user id / password provided by the bank for net-banking purpose and punch in the details of the payment that is to be made at the bank website.
When the payment is successful, a challan counterfoil will be shown containing CIN, payment details and bank name, this is the same bank through which the electronic payment has been made. This is also the counterfoil and is also a proof that the payment of the tax has been done.

These steps that facilitate an easy online tax payment have eased a lot of difficulties and paperwork for the tax paying citizen of the country. All these latest developments in the realm of the Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s call to make a digital India. These latest developments are all an indication that India is slowly but steadiliy is moving towards a developmental goal that has been dreamt about by the Prime Minister of the country.

The online method of payment of taxes is being accepted widely by all and sundry. Everyone has been talking high of the online tax payment initiative and there has been a massive response from people all over the country and that is perhaps one of the biggest achievements for the BJP led government in the country.

All You Need To Know About The Features Of An RD Or A Recurring Deposit Account

RD offers you a fixed interest on the amount that is invested with specific frequency till the term that has already been predetermined or upon maturity. At the end of the term the amount upon maturity which also would happen to be the invested capital is paid along with the remaining and accumulated interest.

The following are the main features of an RD account

Recurring deposit schemes are made in order to inculcate the habit of savings amongst public; the lowest amount that can be deposited in an RD account varies from one bank to another, and however the amount can be as small as Rs 10.

The minimum period of deposit stars from a meagre six months and the maximum tenure till which a customer can deposit his money is 10 years. The rate of interest is equal to that offered for a fixed deposit and is hence higher than any other savings scheme. Premature and midterm withdrawals are not allowed in a recurring deposit account and this feature is semblative to the feature in fixed deposits. If that happens the depositor has to pay a minimal fine for premature withdrawal. In a recurring deposit account the depositor can let his savings in the account and at the same time can take a loan on the amount by using it as collateral. About 80% to 90% of the amount can be given to the RD account holder. The RD account can be funded from time to time according to the standing instructions which are actually the instructions that have been given by the customer to the bank to credit the RD account every month from his or her savings bank account.

Duration of the RD account

The customers are free to choose the tenure. They can make their calculations and choose the tenure which suits best. In an RD account the compounding of the interest will be done on a quarterly basis. The deposit term begins with a minimum period of 6 months and it goes up to a period of 10 years. However the minimum period for an RD account depends on the banks as well.

Eligibility for holding a Recurring deposit account

Most Indian banks offer resident Indians and Hindu undivided families the opportunity to open an RD with them. What’s more some banks even offer RD schemes for children and on this case the minors too are eligible to open an RD account but of course they do need the supervision of their guardians so that the finances can be taken care of.

These are some of the points to be kept in mind about RD accounts.

What is a trading account?

When a company lists on the stock market, its shares become available for trading on the stock exchange. Earlier, the exchange had an open-outcry system. In the mid-90s, the stock exchanges adopted the electronic system. This means, all trades were conducted electronically. Simply put, you didn’t have to go to the counter and place an order physically. You could do it through a computer, which would verify the details, the market price, and process the trade.

For this reason, you need a special account through which you can conduct transactions. This is called the trading account. Without one, you cannot trade in the stock markets. You register for an online trading account with a stock broker or a firm. Each account comes with a unique trading ID, which is used for conducting transactions.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DEMAT AND TRADING ACCOUNTS?

Yes. A trading account is used to place buy or sell orders in the stock market. The demat account is used as a bank where shares bought are deposited in, and where shares sold are taken from. Trading account with Kotak Securities helps you trade seamlessly in the stock market.
Let’s use an example.

You have Rs.100 in your wallet. You go to a shop and tell the seller that you want a packet of chips, you check the price, and finalize the transaction. Then, you take the money out of your wallet and give it to the seller. In this case, the wallet acts as the demat account, while you act as the trading account.

HOW TO OPEN AN ONLINE TRADING ACCOUNT?

Just like the demat account, a trading account is a must for investing in the stock market. This is because to trade in the stock markets, you need to be registered with the stock exchange. Stock brokers are registered members of the exchanges. They traditionally conduct trades on your behalf. Most often, stock broking firms have thousands of clients. It is not feasible to take physical orders from every client on time. So, to make this process seamless, it is advisable to open an online trading account. Using this trading account, you can place buy or sell orders either online or phone, which will automatically be directed to the exchange through the stock broker.