20 Outlook Money March 2018 http://www.outlookmoney.com
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mall finance banks Fincare and Equitas have rolled out
quick-to-open digital savings bank accounts (named
101 and selfeSavings, respectively) that do not insist on
minimum balance requirements. According to the release
issued by these banks, customers can open a savings
account online in less than five minutes using their Aadhaar
and PAN details.
Fincare’s account provides customers with an option to
choose from either zero balance or priority account (which
requires a minimum balance of 25,000). The zero balance account offers customers several features such as bill payment, fund transfer and other banking services on mobile without any minimum balance requirements. The bank has set a target of opening a million such accounts in the next five years. Equitas’ account offers an interest rate of 6 per cent per annum for balance below10 lakh and 6.5 per cent interest
rate on balance above 10 lakh.
Small finance banks are niche banks
providing basic banking services of
acceptance of deposits and lending
to sections of the economy that are
not served by other banks. Their
main role is financial inclusion and
the major beneficiaries are small
business units, marginal farmers,
micro and small industries and
unorganised sector entities.
Suyash Desai
Fincare, Equitas Launch
Zero Balance Digital
Savings Accounts
RBI Warns Customers
Against Fake Websites
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
once again cautioned the general
public against fraudulent websites
masquerading as the central
bank’s official portal. Drawing
people’s attention to the URL http://www.
indiareserveban.org, it noted that the
layout of the website was similar to
RBI’s official portal.
The RBI stated that the home page
of the fake website also contains
a provision for “bank verification
with online account holders”, which
appears to have been created with
a fraudulent intent of obtaining
personal and confidential banking
details of customers. Reiterating
that it does not hold any accounts
for individuals and never asks
for personal information such as
account details or passwords, RBI
cautioned people against responding
on such websites. Other fake
websites identified by
the RBI include http://www.rbi.org and
http://www.rbi.in.
Preeti KulkarniHDFC ERGO Slashes
Motor Insurance
Premium, Credits GST
The Goods and Services Tax (GST)
may have been an eyesore for many
businesses and individuals, but
it has brought cheer for HDFC
ERGO’s motor insurance customers.
The private general insurer has
reduced motor insurance premiums
charged to customers by up to 15
per cent. It attributed this cut to
cost rationalisation arising out of
the implementation of GST, its own
cost optimisation initiatives, and the
automated processes it has adopted.
The insurer has also introduced
a self-inspection application that
helps customers renew their motor
insurance policy without any
physical documentation.
Preeti KulkarniNews Roll