What are the available banking cards and their features?

With a humongous advance in modern methods, banking cards have proved to be an efficient means of the transaction for individuals. They don’t just spare you the hassle of running around for cash but also aids you at times of immediate purchases.

Bank cards are specifically classified on basis of their usage, issuance and the payments made by the cardholders. The cards are of three types:

• Credit Cards
• Debit  Cards
• Prepaid Card

Credit cards

You walk into a gadget store and lay eyes on a fascinating high-end smartphone. But to your agony, you are not carrying the amount of cash required to purchase it. Well, all you need to do is get your credit card swiped. A list of few basic features of a credit card will include:

1. Through credit cards, also known as plastic money, a person can withdraw amount beyond what they have in their account. However, there is a certain credit limit up to which the extra money can be withdrawn.

2. The cards can be used for transferring money to the debit card, bank accounts and prepaid cards within the country. They can also be used to make transactions through the ATM.

3. The amount of money withdrawn via a credit card must be paid back along with the necessary interest charges applied by the card issuer within a limited time span.

4. E-commerce/Point of Sale (POS) purchases can be made with credit cards through Interactive Voice Response (IVR) or Mail Order Telephone Order (MOTO). They can be used both internationally as well as domestically.

Debit Cards

Debit cards are a good alternative to paying cash or while shopping from your favourite online store.

Prominent features of a debit card include:

1. Debit cards are specifically linked to the customer’s bank account and are issued by the respective banks. Therefore, you can only withdraw money based on how much you have in your bank account.

2. You need to have sufficient balance in your account to make transactions using a debit card. They can be used for withdrawing cash, purchase of services and goods at E-commerce/Point of Sale (POS) both internationally and domestically.

3. Debit cards are useful for domestic fund transfers among individuals.

Prepaid Card

A prepaid card is the best plastic alternative to carrying around cash. Also called ‘everyday cards’ you can pre-load them with money and use as required. Once the amount gets exhausted you can opt for a top up. The basic features of a prepaid card are:

1. For getting a pre-paid card issued, one needs to pay the money in advance. Thus, these cards cannot be linked to your bank accounts.

2. Prepaid bank cards are issued by both banking and non-banking entities.

3. Prepaid cards issued by banks are called Open System Prepaid Cards and can be used to make withdrawals from ATM, purchase services and goods at E-commerce/POS and for domestic fund transfer.
Different types of cards have made life easy with their on-spot transactional features. Relieve yourself from the hassle of cash payments and get your bank card issued today!

Why Banking Services Are on the Rise?

Meeting financial responsibilities are a very important aspect of life. Whether it be saving money for long-term requirements or  transferring money from one account to the other either for professional or private purposes, bank services are extremely necessary, especially in this age of globalisation.
Many of you reading this article may be wondering what are the various banking services that people are opting and why are they slowly on the rise.

Here is a list of pointers telling you why:

• The digital revolution has brought about a sea of change in the world. Shopping is a necessary part of everyone’s lives. Whether it's grocery shopping or clothing, everything can be done at the click or tap of a button. Almost all of these online shopping websites give you the option of paying online with credit or debit cards or also pay cash on delivery; most of the times people pay online in order to avoid the hassle of keeping loose cash with them in order to pay after the items have been delivered.

• The ease of accessibility is stupendous these days. Accessing the internet has become easier and easier as now smaller devices such as smartphones and tablets come equipped with various applications that enable you to conduct banking services on the go. The ‘omni digital’ group of people are now turning to their devices more and more for numerous banking services instead of physically going to the banks. 

• Transferring money is more easy. Studying abroad is now no longer a far-off dream for many people. With the countless number of scholarships, grants and loans so easily available, more and more people go abroad to study. This makes it necessary for guardians to send money to their children from time to time. With various types of money transfer services- IMPS, RTGS and NEFT, transferring money are easy and fast.

• Similarly, when people go outside of their city or country, they often end up sending money to their family back at home from time to time. Easy transfer services are a huge relief especially if the need is a dire one.

As already mentioned above, in the wake of the digital revolution, there has been a massive paradigm shift in the world of bank services. There is a little requirement of physical presence nowadays as everything is shifting to the virtual sphere.

Banking has become not only easy but also fun with zero requirement of standing or waiting in long queues at the expense of time because digitalization in terms of banking services is rising at a breakneck speed.

What are the benefits of mobile bill pay?

Almost every individual on the planet owns a smartphone. With the rise in popularity of these devices, several companies have also devised methods of conducting monetary transactions through them. Now, paying bills from your phone has also become quite simple. Apps such as Paytm, MobiKwik and others have further increased the popularity of this mode of payment.

Here is a look at some of the benefits of paying bills through your mobile phone.

1. Saves time
Under normal circumstances, you are required to visit the service centre for which you are paying the bill. For instance, if you want to pay the electricity bill, you would have to visit the electric office to clear out the dues. However, with the emergence of mobile bill pay, you can choose to pay off the bill from within the confines of your home or your workplace.

It also saves you the effort of having to travel to the electricity office just so that the bill amount is cleared. In some cases, the office may be located at quite some distance from your home, which would make travelling there a hassle.

2. Saves paper
In the normal method of bill clearance, you would have to inspect the bill papers and then make out the payments in cash. It also involves keeping track of all the prior bills as well, which amounts to a lot of paper. Using the mobile bill pay option however does not involve any hard copies of the documents. Instead, you can check the bill online and clear it out online. The transaction is saved for future reference and you can check it out from your phone itself.

3. Secure payment option
You may feel that online transaction involves a lot of risk. However, in reality, paying the bill through your phone involves much lesser risk when compared to the dangers of carrying the cash amount to the bill clearance office. Online transactions these days are protected by SSL encryptions, which cannot be decrypted by anybody else, apart from the beneficiaries.

4. Much more organized
In mobile bill payments, bill clearance is much simpler. An email quotes the bill amount that needs to be paid. After the amount is cleared, the customer receives a confirmation by mail. The payment is almost instantaneous and can be made at any time. This means that you are free to make the bill payments on the last day as well, without having to worry about defaulting.

Mobile payment apps and methods are slowly replacing the cash payment system that was followed previously. Try out the different online bill payment options and you will surely notice the difference.

How to pay toll through the comfort of your phone

If you own a car and travel a lot through highways and expressways, you must have come across the toll booths. Here, you have to pay the toll fee, which is a type of tax you pay to the government of India.
For convenience, several newer procedures have come into effect through which you can pay toll online. Here is a look at some of the methods through which you can pay the toll through your phone.

FASTag

Several apps allow users to transfer money into a virtual wallet. While passing through a toll booth, the user needs to scan the QR tag from their smartphones. This will directly transfer the required amount of money from the virtual wallet to that of the toll company. Many banks offer this facility, so you should ask for the same. This method of payment is often known as FASTag payment.

ToneTag

Paying toll usually takes a lot of time. However, through a ToneTag app making toll payments has become easier. Through this app, you simply have to unlock your mobile phone to make the payment. Users need to sync the ToneTag account with that of their virtual wallets, payment bank and UPI apps.

Benefits of paying toll through phone

• Paying toll usually requires you to carry cash. However, with the emergence of online payment options, you can pay toll even if you are not carrying cash physically.

• Since, this cashless process is much faster, cars can move on without having to stop near the toll booth. This helps reduce fuel consumption.

• Recharging the FASTag is very easy, since users can transfer funds using debit card, credit card, RTGS, NEFT and net banking.

• Once you sign up to FASTag, you can avail the service for 5 years without needing to sign up again.

• Using this cashless method for toll payment, you can receive cashback and discounts up to 10%. This means that you have to pay less if you opt to pay highway toll online.

• Lastly, you can save a lot of your time if you pay toll online. This will cut down on travelling time and ensure you reach your destination sooner.

So, the next time you are on the expressway and you have to pay highway toll, be ready with your FASTag app.

PayZapp: Take advantage of instant and convenient online payments

HDFC Bank which is the best private sector lender launched additional payment platforms for is POS (Point-of-sale) terminals which can be used to perform transactions. One such popular payment app through which one can carry out transactions is the PayZapp application.

HDFC Bank has a staggering network of around 3 lakh merchants and 4 lakh POS machines all set to be converted to DigiPOS. Presently, HDFC accounts for 3/4th of the total transactions made through various POS terminals, which implies that every third monetary transaction is done by using an HDFC card or HDFC payment options. 14 crore transactions are done every month through HDFC Bank. PayZapp acts as customer acquisition strategy for the company and easy way of handling finances for the public. Moreover, HDFC is a very trusted bank, so this new app is a safe and efficient way of carrying out your finances.

PayZapp combines features of hundreds of e-commerce platforms as well as characteristics of a bank. It ensures the protection of a customer wallet and personal details and makes sure that HDFC retains its dominance over the retail segment. Customers who have an account in HDFC Bank no longer need to separately download apps from other companies like Expedia, Goibibo, MakeMyTrip, Cleartrip, BookMyShow, BigBasket and Flipkart. All these important apps will just be one click away if you download PayZapp. It also compares prices and shows you the best deals which suit your pocket and desires. It facilitates all the monetary transactions of thousands of merchants across the country. With loads of bright minds sitting in Silicon Valley and working hard to give us the best experience, physical banking is soon going to be obsolete. There is no need of standing in long queues outside the bank, your work can be done with just a click of a button.

Indian banking has reached its crossroads with apps like PayZapp shaking the behemoths of two hundred years of traditional banking. The best part about this app is that it is free and just a working internet plan on your phone is enough to help you with all your transactions. The PayZapp app will allow you to book airline tickets, movie tickets, do grocery shopping, book hotels, pay bills easily, recharge your phone and send money.  Within PayZapp, HDFC offers Smart Buy which is basically a virtual marketplace to suit all your needs. You can buy whatever you want at a discount; this will increase your savings at least 10% to 15% a month.  PayZapp is the future of internet banking as HDFC Bank ranks number one among all the private banks if we consider mobile payment apps.

What is the future for UPI 2.0?

The Unified Payment Interface or UPI came into existence in April, 2016. Ever since, millions of Indians have used this system for making and receiving payments. It is essentially an electronic mode of payment, which can be used to transfer funds straight from your bank account without the need to type out your debit card details or your net banking password.

However, in light of the success of the UPI, the government of India is now planning to launch the second version of the same, dubbed UPI 2.0. This version will include all the features of the previous one, but will also include one additional feature. This feature will allow the user the ability for a one-time authentication for repeat payments to beneficiaries, similar to the way post-dated cheques work. This new feature is known as eMandate.

Let’s take a look at what the introduction of eMandate can mean for you and what the future of UPI 2.0 looks like.

Easy EMI and loan payments

Since the eMandate feature allows for a one-time authentication procedure for repeat transactions, you would not have to keep authenticating the EMI payments each month. You can simply authenticate the transaction the first time and sit back. All of the other payments will be made each month automatically.

This will reduce the friction significantly and streamline the loan repayment procedure. The same applies for any repeat payments that you have to make. For instance, the house rent can also be authenticated once in a similar manner.

Collection costs for small loans will decrease

Currently, the collection costs for small loans are cumbersome, as they can increase the total expenditure. The loan repayment process includes either electronic clearance service (ECS) or post-dated cheques (PDC), both of which involves quite a bit of hassle. With the introduction of the eMandate through UPI payments, the collections costs will most likely go down.

Greater savings and insurance purchase

With the introduction of the UPI 2.0, there is a high chance that people will start saving more. This is because it will become simpler for people to sign up for saving products in the market. For the same reason, people are likely to purchase insurances as well. This will boost the financial growth of the entire country.

Therefore, it seems as if the UPI 2.0 introduction will shake up the Indian market. The eMandate will mostly have a positive effect on the economy as well as on the individuals. However, only the future will show how the new UPI affects people.

What are the features of private banking?

The concept of private banking goes beyond the concept of day to day banking transactions in order to address a person’s financial condition. It is a complete amalgamation of providing financial solutions, retirement planning and ways to pass on wealth to the future generation. The idea of private baking has been gaining ground in the recent times owing to the benefits provided to high-end consumers.

What is private banking?

Private banking can be defined as personalized banking and financial services, meted out to the bank’s HNWI (High Net worth Individual) clients. HNWIs are people who have potentially secured more wealth than the average person. Thus, they have in plenty of what is needed to make alternative and conventional investments. In such cases, private banks make an attempt to provide individuals with the most suitable types of investments.

Private Banking Personalised Services

1. Customers availing private banking services are entitled to highly personalised services. Each customer is assigned a relationship manager or an account to adopt a customised approach to asset management. Therefore, in case the need arises, the customer can directly communicate with the management.

2. Any private bank in India lends out discounted services to the HNWIs on the grounds of the substantial assets that they hold. For example, there might be a reduction in the foreign exchange rate for customers who are into export businesses.

3. These banks often provide investment returns that surpass the benchmark indices. HNWIs can easily influence the investments by using extensive resources in their possession. For example, an HNWI might gain access to a hedge fund that is performing par excellence in the market, via an affiliation with a private bank.

4. There is a large section of private banks that do not carry FDIC insurance. Therefore, an aggressive approach towards the management can usually prove to be quite beneficial for the investors. It can also lead to a great deal of profit for fund managers.

Almost every private bank in India is known to follow an open product platform, through which they claim their services to be unbiased. They firmly believe that the client is provided with the best of what they can avail in the field. Since the concept of a private bank revolves solely around understanding the needs of the clients and providing a relevant solution for the same, only a few banks define their proposition value as required.