How to transfer money using UPI

Digital payment and cashless is the new and upcoming way of payment system and the recently launched Unified Payment Interface (UPI) is likely to gain popularity with the government's recent move of banning Rs500 and Rs1000 notes.

UPI enabled apps allows transaction to be done through any smartphone, using VPA-Virtual Payment Address. It reduces the cost of transaction compared to ATM or cheque. It is to make payments convenient and enable users to complete transactions in lesser time by reducing the number of steps. The transactions done through UPI app can be done 24/7 with immediate transfer of money from one bank account to other. The main attractive point of UPI is the money is all these transactions can be done without sharing any personal details like bank account or credit/debit card number. UPI-enable app allows transfers up to Rs.1 lakh and charges 50paise per transaction.

We tell you how to transfer money using UPI enabled apps

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7-Year Jail For Illegal Cash Deposits, Tax Department Warns Violators

Warning people against depositing their unaccounted old currency in someone else's bank account, the tax department has decided to slap charges under the newly enforced Benami Transactions Act against violators that carries a penalty, prosecution and rigorous jail term of a maximum seven years.

In a related development, official sources said that the department has detected over Rs 200 crore in undisclosed income after it conducted over 80 surveys and about 30 searches in cases of suspicious usage of the scrapped currency. About Rs 50 crore has also been seized in these operations since November 8, they said, across various states.

The sources said the taxman has initiated a country-wide operation to identify suspect bank accounts where huge cash deposits have been made post November 8, when government demonetised the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes. 

Such instances where the suspicion is found to be true will be prosecuted under the Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, applicable on both movable and immovable property, that has been enforced from November 1 this year.

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How to activate Dormant Bank Account

Do you have more than two bank accounts but do not use them often? If yes, then you must ensure that you either reactivate or close the account. As per the Reserve Bank of India guidelines, any savings account or current account which has seen no transactions for two years, will be deemed inoperative or dormant. Here are a few tips on how to reactivate your account.

Why does your bank account become inoperative or dormant?

• If there has been no transaction in the account over a one year or more, then it becomes inactive.
• However, if there has been no transaction for two whole years, then the account automatically becomes dormant.
• Only a savings account or current account can become dormant.

How do you know if your account is dormant?

• When you cannot make any transaction through any banking channel, be it ATM/phone/online.
• An inoperative account may not affect your credit history, but to avoid fraud, it is better to reactivate it.
• According to a World Bank report, India accounts for 195 million of the 460 million adults with dormant accounts around the world. At 43 per cent, the rate of dormancy is quite high measures to keep your account active.

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Things to know while using a credit card

Credit card can be a beneficial financial tool, if used carefully. If not, it can turn into a menace for your finances.

Ideally, you should set a budget before you make purchases through your credit card. And only spend as much you can pay back, after all it's not your money.

Here are few things you should always keep in mind before you become debt-ridden:

1. Limit your credit card use

Usually, there is an interest free period for every credit card. So, in order to avail it, you should ideally keep your credit card dues nil.

As long as you pay the amount on time, you can take advantage of the interest free period.

2.EMIs and Reward Points

It is recommended that you should always transfer you balance to EMIs (Easy Monthly Instalments). Doing so will help you pay your debt more easily on less interest charges.

Also, every credit card purchase means earning rewards points. Never overspend just to earn them. 

3. Never withdraw cash through your credit card

Do not forget that cash withdrawals from your credit card will incur both one-time fee plus high interest charges.

So, it is not advisable to take out cash via credit card unless you are in dire need.

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History of Public Sector Banks in India

[Important for Bank Exam / Interview]

Allahabad Bank

Andhra Bank

Bank of Baroda

Bank of India

Bank of Maharashtra

Canara Bank

Central Bank of India

Corporation Bank

Dena Bank

Indian Bank

Indian Overseas Bank

IDBI Bank

Oriental Bank of Commerce

Punjab & Sind Bank

Punjab National Bank

State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur

State Bank of Hyderabad

State Bank of India

State Bank of Mysore

State Bank of Patiala

State Bank of Travancore

Syndicate Bank

UCO Bank

Union Bank of India

United Bank Of India

Vijaya Bank

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Banks to share all transaction-related details in standard format

A standard format has been designed for banks to share the transaction-related details with revenue intelligence and central security agencies looking into money laundering and financial fraud cases.

This follows intelligence and probe agencies laying emphasis on a standardised format for sharing of information by the banks, including those done through cheques, official sources said on Monday.

The issue was first raised by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which found that while investigating an offence, banks were providing information in different formats making probe rather difficult. A meeting was then called by Central Economic Intelligence Bureau and a commonly acceptable format was designed, they said.

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What is Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) reform by the RBI?

The Reserve Bank of India has brought a new methodology of setting lending rate by commercial banks under the name Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR). It will modify the existing base rate system from April 2016 onwards.  

As per the new guidelines by the RBI, banks have to prepare Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) which will be the internal benchmark lending rates. Based upon this MCLR, interest rate for different types of customers should be fixed in accordance with their riskiness.

The MCLR should be revised monthly by considering some new factors including the repo rate and other borrowing rates.  Specifically the repo rate and other borrowing rate that were not explicitly considered under the base rate system.

As per the new guidelines, banks have to set five benchmark rates for different tenure or time periods ranging from overnight (one day) rates to one year.  

The new methodology uses the marginal cost or latest cost conditions reflected in the interest rate given by the banks for obtaining funds (from deposits and while borrowing from RBI) while setting their lending rate. This means that the interest rate given by a bank for deposits and the repo rate (for obtaining funds from the RBI) are the decisive factors in the calculation of MCLR.

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Projected DA Decrease 0.9% for Bankers from May 2016

Now CPI for Two months have been announced for relevant months and the same are as follows:-

Month	CPI
January 2016	6140.17
February 2016	6094.52
March 2016 (Projected)	6094.52

At present the DA (as per 10th BPS) is @ 42.60%, for the months of  February 2016 to April 2016.  The CPI has moved down from December 2015 level.  Thus, in the given scenario, there are good chances that  DA from May 2016 will decrease  in all probabilities by around 0.9%    Thus, we project that DA for May 2016 will be around  41.70%.  We give the projected amount that is likely to decrease in the revised pay scales of Xth BPS.

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Is your Bank Locker Safe – Liability of Banks in case of Locker Theft

LOCKER THEFT: How Safe is your Locker? What is the liability of bank in case of Locker Theft?

Lockers are a general tendency now days in every Bank. Almost every Bank offers this facility to its customers. It has become a vogue among general people to have locker in Banks. Many Banks offer safe deposit locker facility to the Customer to deposit their personal belongings, mainly gold ornaments, cash and other important documents in lockers. The facility is provided in exchange of a particular annual charge based on size of the locker. The Customers generally feel safe while depositing their valuables in the Bank Locker, considering the level of security and vigil ensured by the Bank. But question arises: Is your Bank Locker Really Safe or not?

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Why PSU Bank Mergers May Not Be A Good Idea

The sharp rise in bad loans in domestic banking system has weighed on economic development and forced the government to explore measures to revive state-run lenders. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley last week said that the government was looking at consolidation in the banking sector, hinting at merger of smaller state-run banks with bigger, strong ones.

But Munish Dayal of Baring Private Equity told NDTV Profit that consolidation of public sector banks may not be a great move, as it has not worked in the past. 

According to Mr Dayal, consolidation of weak banks, with almost no net worth, may not help in creating large world-class banks. He said both Punjab National Bank (which merged with NBI in 1997) and Oriental Bank of Commerce (which merged with Global Trust Bank in 2004) had to suffer because of mergers.

"Making the weaker banks a part of big profit-making banks cannot work," Mr Dayal said.

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Unions, employees oppose merger of 27 public sector banks into six

The consolidation exercise among public sector banks may not be an easy one with unions and employees voicing their concerns.

Barely two days since finance minister Arun Jaitley announced the proposal to have “strong banks rather than numerically large numbers,” unions have t

heartened to resort to strikes if the process is kicked off. According to unions, if the government’s plan was to avoid “large number” of banks, why did it issue licences to companies to set up payments and small finance banks?

The consolidation exercise could bring down the number of public sector banks to about six from the current 27, banking sources had earlier told HT.

Issues such as mergers of weak banks, chalking out a career path for the chairmen of the merged banks, cultural fitment of lenders will also have to be dealt with, analysts said, even though the government seemed confident of the merger exercise.

Addressing a press conference at the conclusion of the second edition of the Gyan Sangam — a two-day offsite for public sector banks and financial institutions — on Saturday, Jaitley had said that consolidation in the banking sector was discussed at the meeting, and bankers themselves have suggested that an expert group should be set up soon to look into the issue. The panel will closely work with the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) to identify the right matches for consolidation. The BBB is set to be put in place by April 1, 2016.

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Banks to pay interest rate on saving accounts every quarter: RBI

At present, the interest is credited in savings bank account on half-yearly basis. Interest rate on savings bank account is calculated on daily basis since April 1, 2010.

"Interest on savings deposit shall be credited at quarterly or shorter intervals (on domestic savings deposits)," RBI said in a master circular issued on March 3.

While public sector banks offer 4 percent interest on savings deposit, private players offer as much as 6 percent.

In 2011, the Central Bank had decided to give freedom to commercial banks to fix savings bank deposit rates, the last bastion of the regulated interest-rate regime. While giving banks this freedom, RBI had said a uniform rate will have to be offered on deposits of up to Rs 1 lakh.

On higher amounts, banks are allowed to offer differential rates to depositors.

Earlier, banks used to give interest of 3.5 percent on savings accounts on the basis of the least deposit in an account between the 10th and the last day of each month.

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PSBs race to set up over 5,500 ATMs in Q4 as fiscal-end nears

State-owned banks are racing against time to install more than 5,500 ATMs in the last quarter ending March to meet the target for the current fiscal. 

Of the 27 PSBs, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Indian Bank,Oriental Bank of Commerce   and Vijaya Bank   have exceeded their planned ATM installation while Dena Bank   is yet to set up any against its target of 1,200 ATMs. 

The public lenders have installed 10,447 ATMs so far against the total of 15,949 planned for 2015-16, according to the quarterly data of the Finance Ministry. 

The country's largest bank, SBI, has put up 3,107 ATMs as against the planned 4,000 ATMs in April-December of the current fiscal. Bank of Baroda, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, and State Bank of Travancore are close to their target at the end of the third quarter. 

The youngest public sector bank, Bharatiya Mahila Bank, has 87 ATMs, up from 55 at the end of the last financial year. At the end of December 2015, the public sector banks had a total of 1,39,366 ATMs. Installation of automatic teller machines (ATMs), especially by public lenders, has been a major priority for the government to ensure financial inclusion. 

Following the Budget 2013-14 announcement, these banks are required to have an onsite ATM at every branch. Financial inclusion aims to extend financial services to the large, hitherto un-served population of the country. In addition, it strives towards a more inclusive growth by making financial avenues available to the poor.

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Sovereign Gold Bonds- 2016 Series-II

Government of India has vide its Notification F.No. 4(19)-W&M/2014 dated March 04,2016 announced that the Sovereign Gold Bonds, 2016 (“the Bonds”) will be open for subscription from March 8, 2016 to March 14, 2016. The Government of India may, with prior notice, close the Scheme before the specified period. The terms and conditions of the issuance of the Bonds shall be as follows:

The  Reserve  Bank  of  India  (RBI)  has  issued  a  notification  on  third  tranche  of Sovereign Gold Bonds, 2016, dated March 04, 2016.  Applications for the bond will be accepted from  March 8, 2016 to March 14, 2016.  Copy attached for your ready reference.
In this connection, Shri Shaktikanta Das, Secretary DEA during the video conference held  on  March  03,  2016  with  Chief  Executives  of  various  banks,  RBI  and  IBA, requested the banks  to make their best efforts to reach out to potential customers to invest in the third tranche of Sovereign Gold Bonds.

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We need strong banks, not more banks: Arun Jaitley

India will consider merging some of its more than two dozen state-run banks, finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday, as the government seeks to improve efficiency at the ailing lenders that dominate the nation's banking sector.

Bankers have "strongly supported" the idea of consolidation, suggesting the government to form a panel of experts to devise a merger strategy, Jaitley said after a two-day annual brainstorming event of industry leaders and officials from the Reserve Bank of India and finance ministry.

State-run lenders hold more than two-thirds of assets in India's banking industry.

But they also hold about 85 per cent of non-performing loans after adding toxic assets at a faster pace than their private sector rivals, hurting profitability.

About 40 per cent people in the country have little access to formal banking channels yet industry analysts question the need to have more than two dozen government-owned lenders.

"You need strong banks rather than numerically a larger number," Jaitley said.

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Different type of Loans available in India

let us look at different type of loans available.

1) Home Loan-Home loan as name suggest is the loan against buying property. Every individual currently have dreams to have their own home. To make affordable best option is home loan. Again their are sub-categories of home loans which are as below.

• Home loan for residents
• Loans for repairs and extension
• Land purchase loan
• Top-up loans
• Loan for Earnest Money Deposits (EMD)
• Reverse Mortgage Loans
• Loan against property

You may also find different variant of home loans other than above. But I listed basic type of home loans.

2) Personal Loan-It is the loan granted to fulfill your expenses which ranges from buying some expensive electronic gadgets to booking your air tickets Yes people used to use this facility for anything they can. They forget that usually rate of interest on such loans will be higher than other types of loans. But still to have something in advance end up them to borrower of such type of loans. Here we may find two types of loans

• Secured Loans-Where you provide some collateral as a safety against loans.
• Unsecured Loans-In such type of loans borrower collateral not required.

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Types of Banking Software

Finacle

Features of  Finacle
(i) Finacle core banking solution is designed on a completely web based paradigm. 
(ii) It is multi-lingual, multi-currency CRM-enabled core banking solution.
(iii) Based on open systems and is extensively parameterisable solution.
(iv) It supports 24x7 operations.
(v) It has multiple delivery channel support and the extensibility tool kit. Finacle is fully multichannel alerts-enabled and facilitates bank or customer defined event-triggered alerts to be delivered to the bank’s customers through their channel of choice.
(vi) In a recent scalability test audited by Ernst and Young, Finacle also emerged as one of the world’s most scalable core banking solution by achieving an unparalleled performance of over 11,180 TPS (transactions per second) translating into 40 Million transactions per hour.

Functional overview

Finacle core banking solution offers comprehensive retail, corporate and trade finance features- all in a highly secure and reliable environment.

Retail banking

Finacle core banking solution supports product management and account management for the full range of retail banking products such as Savings, Current/Checking, Overdraft, Revolving overdraft, Term Deposits and all types of retail Loans [Personal Loans, Auto Loans and Mortgages].

Corporate banking

Provides comprehensive product management and account management for corporate banking products such as Commercial loans, Syndications [Participation], Securitisation, Term Loans, Demand Loans, Overdrafts, Non Performing Asset Management, Limit Management, Debt consolidation through rephasements, Collateral Management, Interest rate management and Loan Modeling.

Trade finance

Finacle offers powerful trade finance features covering business areas like Bills (Foreign & Inland), Documentary Credits/ Letters of Credit, Pre-shipment Credits, Bank Guarantees, Forward Contracts and Foreign Remittances among others.

Common modules

Finacle offers extensive common modules which include support for Clearing (including electronic and RTGS), Standing Instructions, General Ledger, Signature display and management, document tracking, limits and collateral management, delinquency management and a whole range of day to day and year end reports. Finacle has the capability of interfacing with various payment gateways, Anti Money Laundering solutions, Regulatory reporting systems, Statement management and distribution systems and consolidation packages.

Business benefits

Finacle provides the bank and its customers a comprehensive unified multichannel view of customers. Its 24x7 availability feature ensures that the bank’s customers always stay in touch with the bank.

It can help banks eliminate non-productive processes. Also, it can be easily integrated with applications like Chat, Ticker and Mail for quick and seamless knowledge dissemination. These features enable banks to derive maximum efficiency from existing processes.

The unique extensibility tool kit allows banks to set and modify business rules quickly and integrate with surround applications seamlessly, without touching the source code which means that it can be handled by the bank’s own IT staff. This translates to quicker time-to-market for new products and services

The scalability of Finacle’s core banking solution ensures lower total cost of ownership to the bank.

BaNCS

Features of BaNCS

(i) BaNCS automates every aspect of a bank’s operation–uniting front, middle and back office processes in real time. The latest branch automation and Internet banking solutions extend this functionality 24/7 to entire international branch networks and customer-facing interfaces.

(ii) BaNCS has open architecture, which provides an unequalled level of integration, flexibility and scalability across all platforms.

(iii) It has a proven core retail banking system and state-of-the-art front end delivery channels, with the added option of a full wholesale banking solution incorporating Treasury, Trade Finance and International Payments.

(iv)  Other modules include Accounting (General Ledger) and Executive Information System (EIS) components which leverage the completely integrated nature of the core solution and its automatic data capture characteristics.

(v)  BaNCS has been designed in a modular fashion around a common base which is both platform and database independent. This means financial institutions can convert to BaNCS and add increased functionality in manageable increments without the hardware and systems limitations of typical legacy systems and many contemporary offerings.

(vi)  The solution is virtually future-proof, being able to accommodate the latest technological innovations through application program interfaces (APIs) which are isolated from the core architecture and do not require the main application code to be re-written.

The BaNCS application has been developed around six basic key foundation concepts. These are:

(i)  Customer relationship management

(ii)  Modular, parameter-controlled

(iii)  Scalable and high performance

(iv)  System Independence

(v)  Ability to co-exist with other systems through APIs

(vi)  Multilingual and multi-currency 

BANCS Base is the core of the overall BANCS suite. It provides the architectural components of the application comprising:

(i) Delivery channel management including message input and file input (trickle feed) for accepting in-clearing and similar transactions via tape, electronic and other means.

(ii) Provision of the common APIs

(iii) Multi institution support

(iv) Multi branch support

(v) Multilingual support (both single and double byte operations for  language control)

(vi) Multi-currency support

(vii) Database support for choice of: DB2; Oracle; or SQL/Server

(viii) Platform support for choice of MVS, UNIX or Windows.

(ix) General Ledger Interface (GLIF) and Central Accounting functions

(x) System management controls, including provision for 24/7 processing

(xi) Security services which establish the basis for authority and access

Other functions provided within BANCS Base include the following applications:

(i) Customer management facility

(ii) Parameter maintenance

(iii) Fees and charges

(iv) Cash accounting

(v) Contingent accounts

(vi) Remittance reconciliation

(vii) Debt collection system

(viii) Collateral management

(ix) Limits and exposures

(x) Brokerage

(xi) User messaging and diary system

(xii) Correspondence

(xiii) Base report set

FLEXCUBE

Features of FLEX Cube

FLEXCUBE Core Banking Solution helps large and growing retail banks succeed in improving their profitability and extending their customer reach.

Benefits

i-flex’s Core Banking Solution can support a financial institution by:
(i) Reducing operating costs significantly( One customer reduced costs by 50% after implementing FLEXCUBE).

(ii) Offering improved customer service with higher cross-sell rates With enriched customer data collection, banks can cross-sell products to existing customers easily.

(iii) Achieving record time-to-market for new products i-flex enabled new product creation in just two to three weeks from concept to launch.

(iv) Easily integrating with existing systems FLEXCUBE can talk to satellite and legacy systems using the latest XML-based interface protocols.

(v) Helping a bank comply quickly with changing regulatory requirements FLEXCUBE supports regional regulatory needs (anti-money-laundering, Basel II, SOX compliance).

(vi) Driving product innovation (Some banks have been able to define 1,500+ products on FLEXCUBE).

(vii) Reducing costs (one customer reduced technology costs by 90 percent and operational costs by 40 percent).

(viii) Facilitating rapid time-to-market through quick and easy implementation. 

(ix) Ensuring rapid customer acquisition.

(x) A large bank acquired 1.5 million new customers in just 11 months with a new service offering made possible by FLEXCUBE.

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