Effective Fund transfer: 5 tricks to keep in mind

There was a time when transferring funds from one place to another required a lot of time, resources and good amount of cost. But due to the global markets working seamlessly, money transfers have taken a new shape in our lives.

With the help of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) services money is transferred from one bank account to another either within a single financial institution or across multiple financial institutions through computer based operation without any direct intervention of bank staff. Here are a few tricks you need to keep in mind when talking about effective fund transfer services:

• How to transfer
Online transfer options usually include e-transfers and power transfers while the most common offline transfer options involve cheques and bank drafts. If you’re remitting money across international boundaries, make sure your bank has listed its correspondent banks while opting for offline mode. When it comes to sending money abroad, quite a few online options do not fit the bill as per RBI guidelines.

• Speed of disbursement
Online fund transfer option is more appropriate at the time of an emergency. While NEFT usually takes 24-36 hours to transfer money, IMPS transfer money in real time. Offline transfer mode, on the other hand, takes time. If the cheque is issued in a foreign currency, there can be a delay of 7-15 days since the bank would have to verify the deposit before the holder can lay his hands on the money.

• Coverage offered
All fund transfer options may not be available at every location. While the offline mode of transfer is available at bank branches, online mode is available mostly in urban places. While transferring funds from one country to another, you have to check with the currency- if your bank offers coverage to the currency you want.

• Cost of service
There is an inverse relationship between the transfer speed and the cost associated with it. According to a RBI survey, SWIFT which is an international wire transfer system, is more expensive than drafts and cheques. This is simply because they offer more specialized services and have better access to people.

• Convenience
Apart from speed and cost of fund transfer, the factor that matters while transferring money is the convenience. If either the parties is not comfortable using online transfer modes, offline method is a better choice.

These tips will surely guide you through while choosing the most effective fund transfer methods.

How to plan your NRI savings

With so many investments offering potentially great return rates, one might wonder why it is important to have a savings account. Saving money gives you peace of mind, it gives you options to choose from later in your life, and the more you save the easier it becomes to accumulate additional savings. People save money for different reasons and purposes- for emergency funds, for retirement, for down payment, for luxury and travel etc.

Although Non-Residential Indians (NRIs) are allowed to open and hold savings account in India, these accounts are not the same that is offered to a residential Indian. Before you put your money in a saving account, you need to understand and decide on which type of NRI account you want to go with. There are two types of NRI accounts that one can take advantage of if they want to maintain a bank account in the country- NRE account and NRO account.

• NRE or Non-Resident External Rupee account allows NRIs the ability to open a simple savings account. However, the balance is maintained in the Indian currency only. Even if a deposit is made in another currency, it would first be converted to Indian rupee before getting deposited. Money deposited in this account is free of taxes, and if you are maintaining any NRI fixed deposit in this account then both the interest and the principal is tax free. 

• Any normal bank account held by a Non-Residential Indian is known as Ordinary Non-resident Account or NRO. Deposits can be made to an NRO account from overseas. However, the account holder cannot transfer their savings from this account to a foreign account without prior permission of the RBI. The interests earned from these accounts are not exempted from the Income tax in India. NRO savings accounts allow you to keep your Indian earnings from rent, fixed deposit interest, dividends and other sources.

If you are an NRI looking to open an NRI savings account in the country, ensure that you understand the features of these two accounts and choose the one that you find most suitable according to your needs.

Personal Loan: 3 Unique ways to use an unsecured loan

Deciding whether or not to take a personal loan can be a tricky. This is mainly because personal loan is the only loan where the lender does not restrict you to use the money in a certain manner. For instance, education loan money can only be spent for education, while car or house loan can be used to only purchase a car and home, respectively. However, you can spend the money acquired through a personal loan for anything that you feel like.

Another unique feature of a personal loan is that you do not have to put up a collateral for the loan. So, rather than spending the loan money on a wedding or a vacation, you can try out these fun and unique options.

1. Adoption

When we think about a personal loan, we never think about the prospect of adoption. However, in India, the cost of adopting a child can be anywhere around Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 40,000. Aside from that, you would also need to hire a lawyer, which can also be an expensive prospect. Taking a personal loan can help you out in this regard and help save your own money, which can be used to care for the adopted child in the future. However, make sure that you only borrow as much as needed and not more.

2. Flipping a home

People with a penchant for business can take a personal loan in order to flip a house. Flipping a house means giving it a complete makeover. You can try to purchase an old or dilapidated house at cheap rates and use the loan money to renovate the structure. After the remodelling is complete, you can sell the house at a much higher rate than what you originally paid for it. So, apply for a personal loan if you think you can succeed in such a venture.

3. Starting your own food truck business

Food trucks are a common enterprise in the western countries but it is still an emerging market in India. The advantage with such a food truck is that you do not need to lease or purchase land for your eatery. You only need to purchase a big enough truck that can house the kitchen and food preparation counters. You can apply for a personal loan to set up such a business with ease, the profits generated by the business can then be used to pay off the loan.
No matter how you plan on using the personal loan money, remember that you should only loan as much as required. Going overboard may result in unnecessary hassle while paying it back i the future.

How credit card EMI calculator will help you keep your credit in check

Credit cards have a completely different functionality when compared to debit cards. While debit cards let you spend money that you have saved in your own account, credit cards let you spend money that you borrow from the bank. In a way, a credit card lets you loan small amounts of money each month for expenditures.

Although a credit card can be quite beneficial under certain circumstances, you need to keep an eye on the money that you spend using the same. Since this money is a loan, banks charge a substantial interest on it. If you are unsure about how much you would need to repay for a certain amount of credit card expenditure, an EMI calculator can be quite helpful. Here is a look at some of the benefits of credit card EMI calculator.

1. Understanding the connection between rate of interest and credit card bill
Most people tend to feel that they can spend as much as they want when they have a credit card. However, this is not true for two simple reasons. Firstly, each card comes with a credit limit, which you cannot cross each month. Secondly, if you reach the credit limit, chances are that you would be met with a huge credit card bill the next month.

So, it is very important to understand the interest that the credit card companies charge on your each and every purchase using the card. A credit card EMI calculator will allow you to understand how much interest you would have to pay when you spend a single buck using your credit card.

2. Determining how much you can afford
Once you understand the concept of the interest levied, you will also come to appreciate the fact that you cannot afford monumental credit card bills each month. With the credit card interest calculator you are given the opportunity to determine the maximum credit that you can take, without going overboard on your finances.

3. Picking the right card
Each credit card company offers a variety of credit cards to customers. However, not all of them will be suitable for you. Before selecting a card, you need to perform an extensive research regarding the benefits, offers and rate of interest charged on the spending. The credit card EMI calculator will aid you in narrowing down the best card for you, by helping you compare the cost of the card.

So, it is highly recommended that you take advantage of a credit card interest calculator prior to taking a card.

Health Insurance Plan: Key Factors You Need To Be Aware Of

A health insurance is a very important financial investment that almost everyone makes in order to secure the well- being of the concerned individual’s near and dear ones. Medical expenses are very steep and once a medical need arises in the family in the form of a surgery or therapy you can expect to incur a good amount of expenses. In such a situation you will not only have to pay for the cost of the surgery or therapy which will be quite high to begin with but you also need to purchase an array of medication both during the pre-surgery as well as post-surgery period, coupled with that are gazillions of tests that you will be asked to take by the doctor. So, taking into account that there will be a lot to consider, you might as well put in considerable amount of time researching about the different market products as well their features.

Key Features of a Health Insurance Plan Includes:
• Efficiency of Claiming- When you thinking about purchasing a health insurance for your family try to find out the ratio of the claims settlement and also the speed of it. If both are on the higher side then you are rest assured that the insurance company is doing one heck of a job when it comes to claims.

• Networking of Hospitals- This is where you need to look up if the health insurance plan features the facilities that you are likely to require often. Also, take note of the fact that if in the future you are required to shift then the travel insurance will also go along with you. Cashless facilities are another feature that you need to see are available in the networked hospitals.

• Pre and Post Hospitalization- The medical expense that you will have to take care of both during the period; before and after your hospitalization is known as pre and post hospitalization. These include follow-ups as well as medications that you will be asked to take.

• Gratis- Try to search for health insurance plans that provide you with a free health check-up option. These check-ups will not reflect upon the premium on the return of the policies for renewal.

• A Lifetime of Renewals- Look for policies that can be kept on renewing. This kind of a health insurance plan will not have any age limit policy when it comes to the time of renewal. This helps when you have elderly parents to consider and include as part of the policy.

Although these aren’t some of the limiting factors to consider when looking for health insurance policies, these are certainly some of the key factors.

Online toll payment: The convenience of paying toll online.

If you are working in a corporate house you must be aware of the RFID (Radio frequency Identification) card that you use every day to get access to your office. An RFID reader recognizes the tag which remains installed within the card. It works using a touch and go system whereby once you place the card on the reader, you are allowed access. RFID tags work well in any place where mass data collection and tagging is involved. Did you know that you can use the same technology to pay highway toll? And the best thing about it is it allows you to pay toll online hassle-free. It is surely a one-stop-solution if you have to pay toll tax on a daily basis while commuting.

FASTag is the newest device from the house of Radio Frequency Identification Technology. The tag remains attached to your vehicle’s windscreen and once you link it to a prepaid account, the tag becomes active. The toll fares are deducted from your rechargeable prepaid account automatically, every time you cross the toll plaza. No, you would not require waiting in front of a toll plaza if you are the proud owner of this technology. You just drive pass it seamlessly.

These are some of the benefits that you will enjoy if you pay toll online.

FASTags saves your time:  A person who needs to pay toll tax on a daily basis is best suited to understand the pains of waiting in the long queues that often form in front of toll plazas.  If everyone, beginning from public transport drivers to owners of personal vehicles starts using FASTags, imagine the amount of time that will be saved on your way to your destination.

Reduces traffic jams in front of toll plazas: All of us are aware of the painful traffic jams that form in front of toll plazas on the freeways. Most of that happens because trucks and heavy-duty vehicles use the highway to ply between different parts of the country. But if none of the vehicles pays highway toll physically and the process becomes completely automated, the traffic jams will also be brought down significantly.

Transparent: It is a transparent method which allows no extortion. This technology will play a major role in regularizing the collection of toll taxes on every part of the country. If FASTags become the only existing system, a no-escape policy will work soundly.
Convenient: Often you don’t have change and the collector refuses to take a note of a higher denomination; cue for a mild altercation in front of the toll counter, more traffic jams and angry drivers honking behind you. All these can be eliminated with a FASTag. 

Currently FASTags are being used in 350 toll plazas across India. Know if your nearest toll plaza has implemented the latest technology and if it has, get your FAStag fast.

Stock trading and demat accounts: All you need to know.

Before letting you on about the difference between a demat account and a trading account, first we would begin by throwing in a few details about how the stock market works. In simple words the stock market is a commercial hub. Here, the companies that are registered to conduct stock exchange, commence the process with a public offering against the stocks that the companies wish to sell to potential buyers. This is followed by bidding and the buyer acquires a stock after a final price is negotiated between the buyer and the seller.

Why do you need a trading account?

So, as has been aforementioned, whenever a company gets registered with the stock market, its shares become automatically open to the public. In other words, the public can now trade in these shares on the stock exchange. In earlier days before the advent of technology, bidding used to be a chaotic affair full of hue and cry. But, today, thanks to computers and the virtual realm, you can easily gather details related to stocks like the market price, and the ensuing trade process from within the comforts of your home or your work place. However, in order to get the privileges of the stock market, you must open a special account, called a trading account, first thing, that will allow you to conduct all the transactions. You can open a trading account conveniently, online. On opening the account you will receive an exclusive ID that will be used for trading.

What is a demat account?

If the trading account acts as a license to all your transactions, a demat account works as a wallet, where all the stocks that you buy get deposited. And if you are selling a stock of your own, this same demat account is used, from where the stock is picked up and sold.

Opening a trading account and a demat account online

A trading account can be opened online very easily. Use your discretion while choosing a firm. Compare the brokerage charges and make sure that the broker acts as soon as you place an order. One you choose your broker, you have to contact the responsible person who will collect all the personal details from you, like your PAN/Aadhar card details, address proofs etc. This will be followed by a verification process, after which you will get the trading account details, and, you are all set to conduct transactions.
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Likewise, you can also open demat account online. You simply need to link your demat account to your trading account and all the details pertaining to your trading account will be accumulated through the linked demat account. You can also open demat account online and ascribe a nominee to it. The nominee will receive all the securities of your demat account in case you are no more to claim it.