Are you aware of these hidden secrets of ATM cards?

ATM cards have become pretty common nowadays. However, not everyone knows everything that they have to offer. Here are some hidden secrets about the ATM card that you probably did not know about.

1. It may have fraud and theft protection

ATM cards are at very high risk of getting stolen and even more at risk of having someone else use them for their own gains. Therefore, some banks do offer theft and fraud protection against your ATM card.

2. It can help find receipts

There is a little-known feature which some banks offer to ATM card holders, such as the debit card holder where the holder can get his or her old lost receipts back. All the cardholder has to do is to ask the bank for the receipt and the bank will research and email that receipt to you.

3. It has a daily spending limit

This is a feature which may be a problem as you may not get the money immediately when you need it. However, you can plan ahead for your spending by simply spending a certain amount each day.

4. May get cut off if unusual usage found

This is perhaps the greatest hidden secret about an ATM card. It is especially great because if your card is stolen, the person who is using the huge amounts of money will not be able to use it anymore. This is also rarely done so it does not create too many problems with its inactivity for you.

5. Money exits your account quickly

This is an advantage with ATM cards. Any withdrawals you make from your account will quickly be registered. Therefore, you will be aware of the money that exits the account, and how much balance remains.

6. Linked to savings account

Sometimes a checking account will be linked to your savings account but this is actually a disadvantage as sometimes when the two are linked, someone can drain both accounts if they get the card without the owner’s consent.

These are just some of the advantages and disadvantages of ATM cards that you may not be aware of. It is crucial that you have all the knowledge before taking an ATM card as opposed to a credit card as your circumstances may warrant a feature which may actually not be available and this is important for you.

What are the features of the NRO account you should be aware of?

When a citizen of India leaves, the country he/she becomes an NRI and thus he/she has to open an NRO account, an NRE account or an FCNR account. They differ in several ways and when making the choice as to which one to open. Given below are some salient features which must be noted for each option:

1. Eligibility

An NRO account can be held by anyone outside India unless they are in Nepal or Bhutan. This restriction is not placed on NRE and FCNR account holders.

2. Joint accounts

A joint account can be held with residents in an NRO account. With an NRE or FCNR account, you cannot hold a joint account with a resident; you can only hold it on a ‘former or survivor basis.

3. Currency in which account is used

An FCNR account is the exception in this case as both NRE and NRO accounts use rupees whereas an FCNR account uses Pound Sterling, US dollars, Japanese Yen, Euros, Canadian Dollars and Australian Dollars.

4. Repatriability

Repatriability is the ability to transfer money from one country to another. The main difference between an NRO account and other accounts is that an NRO account is not repatriable except under certain conditions.

5. Type of account

An FCNR is a term deposit account whereas NRO and NRE accounts are fixed deposits, savings, current as well as recurring account types.

6. Period of fixed deposits

For an FCNR account, fixed deposits have a period in between 1 and 5 years whereas with NRO and NRE accounts, fixed deposit accounts have the same conditions that apply to resident accounts.

7. Rate of interest

The rate of interest on NRE and NRO accounts are much more flexible than with FCNR accounts which have interest rate ceilings and floors.

8. Tax on interest income

It must be noted that the NRO account is the only one which has taxable income.

9. Loan amount

Only with an NRO account are there ceilings or limits on how much you can loan.

These are just some of the characteristics of an NRO account. There are many other salient features which must be noted and these features are crucial in coming to the decision of which type of bank account is best for you as an NRI in your particular situation.

Top mistakes you should avoid as a NRI account holder

As one travelling abroad and settling down, you will get a lot of access to financial benefits. One of these includes opening the NRI account. Unfortunately, the Indian government makes a multitude of rules for NRI’s that regular citizens of India do not have to contend with. Many NRI’s do not know about them and then get into trouble when they are told. Avoid these problems, here is some information that can make you aware:

1. Not changing resident savings account to an NRO account
It is a fact that NRIs are not allowed to hold a regular resident savings account. However, many of them still do unaware of this fact. It has been said by law that when an Indian citizen’s status changes to an NRI by FEMA rules, they have to convert their account to an NRI account, specifically, an NRO account. All incomes which you received in India, as well as all incomes you need to pay in India, have to be deposited into this account. You must also give the bank adequate notice that you are closing the resident savings account. Usually, the timeframe given for this is 3 months. You do however have the option to change the bank you have your account in. However, an NRO account has to be opened in the bank you are opening your new account in. An NRO account is repatriable. This means you can send the money you earn abroad back to the resident country.

2. Having a PPF account
A PPF account is another account which NRIs are not allowed to have but often keep. The rules for a PPF account which is already opened are extremely convoluted. The rules for these have changed a lot over the years but the current rules are that you can continue with your PPF account when you are an NRI but you have to withdraw the funds after maturity. However, it must also be noted that repatriation is also allowed from an NRO account and this makes even the PPF repatriable if you have followed the legal rules. It must further be noted that if your PPF is not matured then you can continue to keep your PPF in five-year blocks. This is termed as “extension without contribution”.

These are just some of the complications that NRIs have to face at first. It is crucial that you find a banker who knows the Indian system well and can advise you about the best possible way to proceed with the NRI account such as the NRO account as well as a PPF account.

Secrets to quick remit you must know about

Quickremit is the process in which bank transfers money from one country to another.. It is completely free of charge wherein which banks and financial institutes provide the best exchange rates without compromising on the security of your transaction. Considering this, there is no reason to use quickremit. Here are some of the secrets to quickremit you must know about.

1. Allows you to send a personalized message

This is a great feature of the quickremit. Sometimes there may be something you want to say that could not be said via other platforms or you just need to send it privately. In either case, the ability to send a personalized message is a great benefit not too many people know about.

2. Allows you to maintain an address book

It is often very difficult to remember the bank ID of each and every person you need to remit something to. This great feature will allow you to store everything in one place and save you a lot of time and effort in finding your addressee and therefore saves you a lot of hassle as well.

3. It is completely free

As mentioned earlier, a quickremit is completely free since it is online. This will not only allow you to save a lot of your funds, but also it will allow you to save a lot of time.

4. Doorstep delivery in over 1650 locations across India

This is another secret that few people are aware of. This wide range of access means you can send a quick remit to almost any place in India. This helps you send funds to locations which other services may not be able to send.

5. Track your transfer

Tracking your transfer may be very important to you if you are transferring something important and especially if you are worried about it and want your peace of mind. This can be done using an online tracker or an email.

6. Round-the-clock customer service

Quickremit is also known by very few people. You must take advantage of the bank or financial institue’s great customer service, especially since it is available nearly all the time.

A quickremit has a great number of benefits that very few people knew about however you should keep a few points in mind before you quick remit something. One of them is obviously the reliability of your internet connection as you do not want your quick remit to be transferred and the second is the exchange rate when transferring from India to abroad.

Should you file small claims with your car insurance?

You may be thinking that it is wise to make the best use of the resources provided to you and take insurance whenever you get the chance so that you do not have to pay out of your own pocket. Normally, this type of thinking is the correct move financially; however, it is not the case with insurance. It is especially true with car insurance. Here are the reasons why.

1. Deductibles

Deductibles are also known as an excess. These are a very important reason why not to file small claims with your car insurance. This is because deductibles or excess is the amount that the client will have to pay by himself or herself. This means that if the damage to the car is very little, the client will have to pay the full amount himself or herself. Therefore, the client must be sure he has no deductibles when making small claims as otherwise he will have little or no help.

2. NCB

An NCB is a no claim bonus. These are basically the discounts that a car insurance company gives at the end of a year if you have not filed insurance. It can be understood that if you take car insurance for small claims you cannot avail this benefit for big claims. Normally, you get a 20% discount at the end of your first claim-free year after which you get more and more. However, the maximum discount which you can get is 50%, albeit this is a pretty large discount.

3. Risk of losing renewal

Sometimes if you have filed small claims many times, this will make the insurance company think you are a risk to them and thus they may deny the renewal of your policy. This is because insurance companies will be making losses from the insurance package they offered you. Therefore, you should not keep filing small claims especially if you want to keep your insurance.

Finally, note that it is not a hard and fast rule to not take car insurance with small claims. These are only some of the reasons why to not file small claims with car insurance. You must make sure that you do not neglect your circumstances. For example, if there is a third party which was completely at fault for the accident, insurance companies are generally more forgiving and do not stop renewal. You could even talk to an insurance agent to find out whether it is wise or not to file small claims with car insurance.