Are you aware of these features about offshore banking?

Offshore banking refers to operating an account outside the operator’s country of residence. So, if you have a bank account in Switzerland while staying in India, it will be referred to as an offshore bank account. Generally, these offshore accounts offer greater privileges such as tax benefits and more savings. This is why several people prefer offshore banking to an account in their own country.
Here is a look at some of the features that are prevalent in case of a good offshore bank account.

Multiple currency savings

Some offshore banks allow you to operate separate accounts for different currencies. For instance, you may have an income source in Australian Dollar and another in US Dollar, you can operate two accounts to save these currencies. This saves you from converting the currencies and losing some of the money in the process. These accounts also offer you the ability to change the currencies whenever required or whenever the exchange rates seem preferable.

Accessing the account

Accessing an offshore bank account is much more difficult than a domestic one. This is because you actually have to be physically present at such a bank to access your account. Most offshore banks are quite squeamish about security protocols and do not allow for simple netbanking or online transfers. This can be quite a hassle for many clients.

To avoid this, try to find an international bank with a global presence. This will ensure that you can access your account from ATMs no matter where you are in the world.

Lack of trading

Most offshore banks lack the trading features available in other banking sectors. This is because a large majority of clients of these offshore accounts does not engage in trading or stocks. So if you are a trader, try looking for an offshore bank, which offers the tools needed to perform stock trading.

Free money transfers

Some offshore banking firms allow customers to transfer funds from the account without paying any additional fees. This can be quite useful in case you have a relative or a business abroad and need to transfer funds frequently for the same. However, not all offshore banks offer the same benefit to account holders.

Wealth management services

Not everyone has the means to open an offshore account. Those that do are comparatively wealthy and deposit large sums of money inside the account. So, a team of experts and management staff at the bank should aid you in reaching your financial goals. Ensure that you pick such a bank when trying to keep money offshore.

If you are looking to open an offshore account, ensure that you keep these features in mind.

What are the factors you will need to consider when sending money to India?

Sending money overseas always requires a good bit of know-how and research. If you are an Indian looking to wire money back home from a foreign country, you too need to be aware of quite a few things. This will help you determine the best method of transfer, so that you can send the maximum amount without having to clear exorbitant sums first.

Here are a few factors that you should keep in mind if you are sending money to India from a foreign country.

Exchange rates

Exchange rates are constantly fluctuating, which can greatly affect your money transfer. For instance, consider that you are residing in the United States and want to initiate a money transfer to India from there. On the day that you decide to transfer the funds, one US dollar may be worth Rs. 65, while the very next day, the exchange rate can change to Rs. 67 per US dollar. This means that if you transfer the funds on the second day, you will end up transferring more money than you would if you had initiated the transfer on the first day.

Transfer fees

Checking the foreign exchange rates alone will not suffice in you getting the best transfer deal. In case you are sending money to India, you need to keep an eye on the transfer fees posted by your bank. Each bank offers different transfer fee options, some high and some low. Check with your bank on this matter and try to get the lowest transfer fee possible.

Research

There are literally hundreds of options today when it comes to fund transfer. However, you need to conduct a research on your own to determine the best option for you. Some of the agency offers speedy transfer, while others allow you to transfer at lower fees.

Urgent transfers cost more

If you are looking to transfer the funds in a day or two, you would need to spend quite a bit on the transaction fees. However, if you can wait for 4-5 days for the transfer to get processed, then you may get away with a much lower transfer fee. So, try to delay the transfer itself if there is not an urgent need for the same.

Keep these pointers in mind for money transfers to India and you will likely be able to get the best deal for the same. Remember to keep the transfer details handy in order to check with the beneficiary whether they received the same amount or not.

Rural Finance: Current updates set for 2018

India is primarily an agricultural country. Most of the trade and income of the country depends on the produce that it sells to other nations. Therefore, India needs to have a strong financial presence in its rural areas, where agriculture takes place. This is why the government is taking steps to increase rural finance and improve the economic condition of the families living in these lands.

Currently, a number of schemes have been put in place to improve the rural finance. You should be aware of what these schemes are and how they can affect the entire country in the long run.

Digital India

The Digital India initiative was launched back in 2015, but its effects are being felt even now. Through this scheme, the government is trying to spread education and literacy by introducing the internet into even the remotest corners of the country. Most rural regions did not have internet connectivity before this plan was introduced, but since then thousands of farmers have been educated about the importance of the internet.

This program may not sound too important for the rural finance growth, but with the help of the internet, agriculture can improve vastly and increase the productivity of the country.

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan

One of the greatest obstacles in the way of financial growth across rural India is the absence of proper educational facilities there. Under the proposed Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, the IITs and NITs will come together and establish institutions in villages and other rural areas to increase the quality of education of India’s farmers. This is vital for the upliftment of the rural regions in India.

However, this scheme is yet to be made official. Hopefully, the same will come into effect with the 2018-19 budget.

Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao yojna

Most young girls in rural India are not educated properly and married off at a young age. However, with this initiative, the government will propagate the education of the girl child. When these girls grow up, they can contribute to the rural economy and in turn the Indian economy as a whole.

Easier Loans

The government is also planning to make the money lending procedure simple and affordable in villages and other rural areas. These loans will be managed by the government banks and will be given according to the income of the family in question. This will decrease the burden of paying huge interests in case of loans from microfinance and local moneylenders.

If you reside in the rural regions, keep your eyes on this year’s budget, to know more about the schemes and finance policies being introduced. This will help you assess how the Indian government is trying to propagate rural growth.

Why online payment services will be a popular option in the coming years?

Online payment services have been in vogue in the western countries for quite a few years now. However, it has recently started gaining traction in our country. Our government has been pushing for a digital and cashless economy ever since he has come to power. So, just over a period of 2-3 years, a number of payment services have come up that allows individuals to conduct business in a transparent and fluid manner. There is no doubt as such that online payment will become an indispensable part of our lives in the coming years.

The reasons why these services will be a popular option in the near future are:

• You can make payments easily and in a hassle-free manner. Whatever service you are paying for, you are able to do so from the comfort of your home and at any time of your convenience. You do not need to rush to a shop or to anyone to complete the transaction.

• Online payments are generally more secure than receiving or sending money via cheques or by demand drafts. The person who is liable to get paid gets his/her payment instantly and he/she do not have to face the inconvenience of going to a bank and getting the cheque encashed.

•  It is very convenient to set up an online payment service based on a debit/credit card system. A person can set it up by following a few easy steps and start sending or receiving money almost immediately. Service providers are also compet
ing with each other to offer affordable plans with almost negligible setup costs and equally low transaction rates.

• When a person runs a business that requires his/her customers to make payments at regular intervals, it will be prudent on his part to opt for online payment service. He/she will not have to go to the customers to collect the payments and also to remind them of their upcoming payments. So an online portal lets the person collect his/her dues electronically without facing any hassles as such.

• The availability of an online payment system at any shop or any other place increases the credibility of the place. A person who is buying anything or any service may not carry enough cash to make the payment. Hence, it is important to keep the online option open.

• Big corporations, as well as individual entrepreneurs, have understood the importance of displaying their products or services online. This will enable them to reach a wide range of customers and find a market for their products. Customers who otherwise could not have visited the store to purchase the services or product can now do so by making online payments.

India's top online platforms for prepaid mobile recharge

Remember the days when you used to stand in long queues for paying your monthly expenses such as landline bills, water bills, gas bills, electricity bills and mobile phone bills? Bid those days goodbye, because the new generation is all about speed and convenience. For making your payments or online mobile recharge, you just need to download an app, choose your service provider, put in the amount you wish to recharge and wait a few minutes. It is as simple as that!

By just clicking a few buttons on your phone you can save time and hassle of going to a store and recharging your phone. With smart phones becoming more important than luxury, recharging online is also a cheap option because you can often find many offers and discounts coupons on various apps. The best part about recharge applications and websites in India is that, it can be used for almost all service providers throughout the country. So even if you want to recharge several phones with different service providers such as Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel, Reliance, Idea or other providers, you can easily recharge at the comfort of your home.

Some of India’s best apps for prepaid mobile phone recharge includes:-

Paytm

This is a very popular e-commerce website which was launched in 2010. It operates under One97 Communications. Other than online mobile recharge, you can avail a lot of services such as paying electricity bills, paying DTH bills, booking cabs, booking air tickets, booking bus and movie tickets, etc. There is no dearth of customer friendly services offered by Paytm. This app boasts of a staggering number of 75 million application downloads and approximately 150 million wallets at present. Paytm is an acronym which reads ‘Pay Through Mobile’.

FreeCharge

FreeCharge is an application acquired by Snapdeal in 2015, which provides facilities such as online recharge of mobiles, data cards, DTH, postpaid mobile and prepaid mobile. It is by far an extremely successful e-commerce sector in India. FreeCharge even allows its users to receive and send money through WhatsApp and provides an online wallet too. The amount paid during recharge from this app can also be redeemed at times, as it provides shopping coupons of top retailers such as Puma, Croma, Cafe Coffee Day, Shoppers Stop, Barista and McDonalds.

 PayZapp

This application makes not only online recharge of mobiles easy, but also provides services to pay your bills, conduct mVisa payments, etc. This app by HDFC Bank is your one stop solution as it offers a variety of services with just a click of a button. You can also send or receive money to any contact of your phone, provided they too have PayZapp installed. This app is considered possibly the best online payment app for the new generation.

All you need to know about consumer durable loan

After all these years, your lifestyle could do with an upgrade and a consumer durable loan is the best way to get it done. With IPL season round the corner, you might want to cheer for your favourite team while watching it on a large screen LED TV. Or you might want to relieve yourself from the chore of washing clothes manually by purchasing a new washing machine. But not always do you have the extra cash required for such indulgences.

A consumer durable loan helps in financing purchases of household necessities, when you don’t have money to pay for it, at least for the short term.

The loan usually covers a range of products from luxury gadgets like smartphones to household products like a washing machine. A few products covered by the loan include:

• Cooking range
• Air conditioner
• Refrigerator
• Washing Machine
• Laptop, desktop, tablet
• TV
• Smartphone

Types of consumer durable loan

Consumer durable loans can be divided into 3 parts:

Digital Finance - This loan is used to finance laptops, smartphones and gaming consoles. The tenure such loan is set between 8-24 months. A digital finance can also be used in case of purchases through EMI.

Lifestyle Finance –Lifestyle finance covers the purchase of luxury products like utility appliances, fitness equipment and other products like furniture. The loan tenure is 8 – 24 months.

Durable Finance – This comprises of durable needs like LED TVs, washing machine, refrigerators, microwave oven etc.

Part and parcel of the deal

While purchasing a consumer deal loan, there are a few attributes that come along with it. Being aware of these can help you make your decision of purchasing the loan with ease.

Processing fee and down payment - Down payment is the money paid right after the approval of the loan application. Since financial institutions cater to about 80%-90% of the actual price, the down payment usually sums up to 5%-20% of the product price. Thus, before hopping onto a durable loan deal, be assured of the loan amount provided by the lender.

Documentation - Consumer durable loan is easy and fast to apply. They are in most cases instantly approved and require just the basic documentation:

1. Income proof
2. Address proof
3. Identity proof

The rate of Interest - The presence of the rate of interest in case of these loans is optional. There are stores that offer interest-free loans, which mean they are making use of their marketing budget to pay your interests. Today’s market offers you several interest-free schemes. Understanding the scheme of interest gives you clarity about the loan.

These loans are undoubtedly the best ways to get your necessary household requirements funded. Make sure that you explore all the options that you have and settle for the best.

What is the Difference between NEFT and RTGS transfer?

Perhaps one of the most widely used banking services is that of online transferring of money. It is one those services that people have to use, though not always frequently but from time to time.

The reasons for making use of this service is many and varied, some people use it for business purposes while others use it for personal reasons such as sending money to children who are studying abroad or grownups who are living and working in a different city or country. Mostly the kinds of money transfer services available at your disposal are; IMPS (Immediate Payment Service), RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) and NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer).

What is the difference between NEFT and RTGS transfer you ask?

It is as follows:

NEFT

• NEFT is available for use on all days excluding Sundays and bank holidays.

• NEFT money transfer works in batches. It works in settlement basis which means that the money can get transferred in 12 settlements between the bank timings of 8am and 7pm. Similarly, on Saturdays the transfer takes place in settlements of six between the time 8am and 1 pm.

• The value for a NEFT money transfer can be as nominal as one rupee.

• The processing fee for a NEFT money transfer is very nominal. If both the banks, i.e., the sender bank and the bank that receives the money are NEFT enabled then fee can be pretty standard.

• A NEFT money transfer has no maximum transfer limit. This feature makes NEFT very cost-effective and allows for larger usage by the public.

Well, that goes for the NEFT transfer, now we come to RTGS transfer system.

RTGS

• The RTGS system has a minimum transfer limit of two rupees.

• It also has a maximum transfer limit of ten lakhs.
• Both the banks need to be RTGS enabled in order to get this money transfer service in motion.

• The service is very fast-paced as the recipient can get the money in his or her account in a matter of 30 minutes of making the rtgs payment.

• The rtgs transfer service can be availed  between 9 am and 4:30 pm on a weekday and between 9 am a 2 pm on a Saturday.

These are some of the basic differences between a NEFT money transfer and a RTGS payment method. RTGS is, most of the times , favoured for its wider availability of scope and speed whereas others prefer NEFT for its cost-effectiveness and no-limitation freedom.