4 Banks Offering Online Saving Account Opening Facility In India

It is essential to earn and secure our future financially. People spend money to fulfil their desires and demands such as buying a house, a car, some gold and invest it in several financial products with secured and guaranteed returns. A penny saved today equals a penny earned for the future. It helps meet all emergency expenses and keep the funds safe and secure in bank accounts.

A savings account is the most remarkable financial product offered by several banks in India for customers to deposit their hard-earned money and relieve them from the burden of carrying it everywhere. They can also withdraw funds anytime and anywhere without any hassle from the ATM using the debit card linked to the account. The interest also gets deposited in it.

With so many options to open a bank account, it becomes challenging to choose which one of them is preferable. There are so many factors that determine the suitability, such as the interest rates offered, services, facilities, and much more. In India, multiple banks are offering various schemes to their customers to promote the habit of saving and investing. Here are popular ones offering this facility:

1. State Bank of India (SBI): It provides a wide range of banking products to the customers and is the largest bank in India. SBI saving bank account is one of the popular products in which individuals can deposit their money safely. When it comes to interest rates, the account offers exciting rates.
   
   
2. DBS Bank: It operates solely online. Opening an online savings account gives you higher interest rates as well. Download the app on the smartphone and fill the required details. With interest rate competitive, customers also get welcome benefits like INR 150 cashback on adding INR 10,000 in the bank account or spending INR 3,000 on the debit card.
   
   
3. Kotak Mahindra Bank: It has an extended range of facilities to help customers manage their money efficiently. They offer a fixed rate of interest on balance above INR 1 lakh. There are no transaction or monthly account fees to pay while opening an offline or online bank account. Individuals can choose an account that meets their needs from a range of options such as 811 Digital Bank Account, Edge Account, Sanman Account, Classic Bank Account, etc.
   
   
4. RBL Bank: It is one of the leading private banks of India that provides a wide range of banking products, including a mobile banking app. Customers can access the banking facilities from any corner of the world at any time. They also get higher interest rates along with zero balance facility.

6 Tips for NRIs To Manage Their Finance

Foreign countries have attracted Indians since forever, with them wanting to visit and probably settle in one of them permanently. For some people, this dream converts into reality, and they plan on becoming NRIs. It is a personal choice whether one wants to be an NRI or not.

The status of an individual as an NRI is different under the Foreign Exchange Management Act and the Income Tax Act. According to FEMA, they become a non-resident when they plan to move overseas professionally or for an indefinite period. They need to revise their bank accounts and convert them into an NRI account for easy transfer and access to money. Here are some tips to help manage your finance:

1. Revision of bank accounts: NRIs who still have income sources in India, for instance, income from ancestral property or a rented-out property, can keep the money in India by opening an NRO bank account.  Get all existing resident bank accounts redesignated to NRO accounts. Moreover, if there are multiple accounts, consolidate them and then convert them into NRO accounts.
   
   
2. Currency rate fluctuations: Those who wish to invest using their NRI bank account should make a note of the currency rate fluctuations which can affect the returns on the investment. A slight change in the value of Indian Rupee against foreign currency can have a significant impact on the rate of returns.
   
   
3. Redesignate Demat accounts: Before thinking of NRI account opening, consider liquidating the equity and investment portfolio or seek professional advice. There are many methods of doing so, including setting up a PIS account to continue gaining exposure even after becoming an NRI.
   
   
4. Mutual fund investments: The NRE account is non-taxable as compared to the NRO account, which is subject to tax as per the applicable rate. Update the KYC status after becoming an NRI and update the portfolio to avoid mismatches. The NRO account include taxes upon repatriation of mutual funds along with other restrictions.
   
   
5. Get a thorough knowledge of the taxation process: While opening an NRI savings account, all applicants should have a thorough understanding of the taxation procedure of both the countries. As an NRI, they need to abide by the tax laws of both countries: where they reside and in India. The tax deduction benefits in India are similar for both NRIs and the residents.
   
   
6. Get a Forex card: These are prepaid cards that individuals can use while making payments abroad. They have funds pre-loaded in them in the required regional currency. It enables users to withdraw cash in foreign currency, check the account balance, and shop. Also, check the NRI account interest rates on term deposits.

6 Advantages Of An NRI Account

People love travelling and exploring new things all around the world. They are always searching for better opportunities for growth and development. They aim at progress and prosperity in their lives. They have some goals and aspirations to achieve and try to make the best use of every chance in life.

When they settle abroad for work or even go there for a vacation, it is safer to be financially prepared. Emergencies and alerts come without warning, whether in India or any country in the world. They can always secure themselves financially by opening an NRI savings account to help them meet their expenses while they are away from their parents residing in India.

There are different kinds of an NRI account to guide Non-resident Indians of different residential statuses. They can open an NRE or an NRO account and enjoy the benefits they offer. According to the Indian government, an NRI is a person who has not stayed in India for a year because the primary source of income and employment is abroad.

Here are the advantages of opening the account:

1. Tax advantages: It is the most significant motive and gain of opening an NRE account. Interest earned on this type of NRI bank account as well on NRE fixed deposit exempts tax in India. They are not added up even in the taxable profits and helps in gaining revenue in India.
   
   
2. Repatriation advantages: Another advantage of NRE account is repatriation. It allows trouble-free movement of cash because it is possible to repatriate both interest and principal overseas. Cash amounts in NRE accounts are fully and completely repatriable.
   
   
3. Low balance required: Nowadays, most of the private and public sector banks have low balance requirement for NRI account opening. The minimum balance requirement is as low as INR 10,000.
   
   
4. Convenience: Another advantage of foreign currency account is handiness. Most of the banks allow individuals to open them online via the Internet. They need to fill a form online, take a printout, and affix the self-attested print of necessary papers and send to the bank in India.
   
   
5. Joint holding: The account allows individuals to apply jointly with relatives having a resident status. They must file a declaration of the status of the NRI and submit the necessary documentation as asked by the bank.
   
   
6. Accessibility: The saving account for NRI typically comes with an International Debit card. It gives convenience benefit of shopping globally, booking air tickets online, buying life insurance, and withdrawing cash abroad. They must also check the NRI account interest rates before applying for any term deposit scheme in the concerned bank. They can always use the bank’s website or app to apply for it no matter where they are.

What Are The Benefits And Challenges Of Private Banking?

Private Banking means personalised financial and banking services to the high net worth individuals. Usually, HNIs are those who own a business, acquire more wealth and therefore, require the private banking services with access to alternative investments. As such, private banks act as mediators and offer their assistance to such individuals regarding their investments. 

Priority banking includes exclusive investment-related advice, protecting, and growing assets in the present, offering specialised financing solutions, planning retirement, and passing wealth on to future generations. 

Benefits: 

• Privacy: The services offered via privilege banking are highly confidential between the institution and the consumer. Their approach is exclusive to their customers so that the competitors do not lure a potential client with a similar solution. 

• Customised services: Prominent banks make sure that HNIs receive tailor-made services based on the assets they hold. An account or relationship manager gets assigned to each who allows accessing mid-level upper management directly. This easy access minimises any obstacles for offering inputs regarding wealth management decisions, and the bank can strategise the decisions according to the client's financial decisions. 

• Incentives: HNIs are the main clientele for banks, solely because of the substantial assets they bring to the institution. They get rewarded with special private banking services like tax preparation and planning, traveller's cheques, or corporate checking at discounted rates. 

• High returns: Most of the HNIs receive higher returns from their investments that outperform the market. 

Challenges: 

• Regulatory restrictions: Regulations in India are not equipped to deal with the kind of products and services that private banks sell. Few investments are not regulated by an authority making it difficult for the investors to redress their grievances. Only a few have the liberty and control do so yet.
   
• Lack of expertise: Preferred banking requires financial analysts who build strong, lasting and trust-worthy relationships with HNIs. There is a shortage of experience and training. Hence, recruiting, training and retaining qualified professionals is a priority for most banks. Such services target keeping the customers when it should be focusing on teaching the right individuals. 
  
  
• Private Banking in India: Banks like  ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, DBS Treasures, and Standard Chartered are India's top private banks in which the majority of investments get undertaken by foreign investors even though management control are with Indians.

 

How Are Private Banking And Wealth Management Different?

For any high net-worth person, managing wealth is the most crucial prerequisites. Such people often seek services from private wealth management companies which offer specialised financial solutions. These companies also hire financial experts who lend their expertise to clients, helping them invest in different instruments based on their financial objectives and risk appetites. People often believe that these wealth management services also offer private banking facilities.

However, that is not the case. Here are how both the concepts are different. We shall look at some points that explain the same.

Services offered

While both wealth management and private banking services have asset management as its core, the wealth management companies provide consultation and advisory services. Prominent facilities offered by the wealth management firms include investment planning, portfolio development, asset structuring, tax, retirement, and estate planning, among other things. On the other hand, privilege banking offers banking features like brokerage services, asset management facilities, and essential tax consultation.

Difference in approach

Both banks and private wealth service provides unique products for their HNI and ultra HNI clients. However, both entities have a vast difference in their approaches. Such high-profile clients are provided with customised one-to-one models, wherein the bank representative handles all the banking needs. Such services include doorstep cheque collection, cash deposits, specialised current and savings account with high balance requirement, high-interest rates, and overdraft and loan facilities.

Wealth managers tend to focus on offering financial advice and concerned about maintaining, collecting, conserving, and compounding wealth. These experts primarily monitor their client evolution and assist them in achieving personal and financial goals over the years.

Different in options

The other aspect to focus on wealth management and priority banking is the opportunities offered to the clients. Banks can provide their clients with only a limited number of specific products under their portfolio. There is little room for delivering a host of options for such clients. However, wealth management has the opportunity to leverage and implement tailored solutions. Here, the manager recommends many products from different institutions, thus enabling their clients to select from those which suit your requirement.

Relationship with clients

Building a relationship is considered a virtue in the field of wealth management and preferred banking as well. The wealth manager needs to understand not only the client’s financial goals and aspirations, along with concerns. The wealth manager also needs to work towards offering a financially peaceful and comfortable life for the clients and their family, during and after the client’s death.

As for private banking, bank representatives are more invested in forging a personal relationship with the client. The facilities offered also need little time since they are packaged. The products are adapted according to the high or low-risk appetite, keeping the client’s asset volume in mind.

2 Types of RD Interest Rates

 One of the most popular and preferred investments in India are recurring deposits. They help people start earning returns every month throughout their tenure and inculcating a habit of saving in them. A lot of people trust banks and financial institutions for their products as they are safe, reliable and involve less risk. They are also providing guaranteed returns and allow investors to use their money for making more profit.

One can earn RD interest rates over a fixed tenure ranging from up to 5.2 per cent per annum on their RD account. They are like fixed deposits, but the flexibility of monthly instalments is a unique characteristic of this account. The minimum tenure for the deposit is six months and expandable up to 10 years.

The recurring deposit interest rates differ from banks and on various factors, including the investment category and tenure. Almost all banks have the facility of providing senior citizens with a higher rate of interest than regular customers. Banks offer a variety of interest rates, and apart from standard schemes, they also have additional ones reserved for people to achieve specific goals.

The following are the types of interest rates offered on RD by several banks in India:

1. Regular RD savings scheme: Indian banks offering recurring deposit schemes online through websites and banking apps have specific terms for citizens to follow. Only those individuals aged above 18 years can open this account. Customers can choose their deposit amount, which remains fixed for a tenure of six months to 10 years. The interest gets calculated on a simple or compound basis. They can withdraw the lump sum amount at the end of the deposit term.
   
   
2. RD schemes for senior citizens: Senior citizens can also benefit from a comparatively higher rate of interest from RD schemes. Moreover, there are also some schemes available that help them plan their retirement.

A person should be aware of the recurring deposit rates and choose the options to help them meet their investment goals. Smaller sums of money invested over some time multiply with interest and help them achieve specific goals. They are an ideal option for saving to spend on new gadgets, travel plans and other goals. It does not harm the budget at all and makes all the purchases economical.

These financial instruments help create goal-specific savings to help investors plan their budget. They also offer flexible payment facilities like daily, monthly, and quarterly payments which are accessible on the website as well as the app.

Overview of Wealth Management

 The highest level for financial planning services is wealth management. In addition to financial counselling, tax guidance, estate planning and even legal aid, wealth management typically requires extensive investment management.

Wealth management companies provide investment management and detailed investment advice. Wealth managers tackle complicated financial issues and coordinate on behalf of investors with financial experts.

The highest level for financial planning services is wealth management. In addition to financial counselling, tax guidance, wealth account and estate planning and even legal aid, wealth management typically requires extensive investment management.

The type of service a wealth management company provides is ideally suited to wealthy clients. But while you may not need wealth management now, over time, your needs are likely to shift. It might be time to look into wealth management at some point.

In general, investment managers direct their services at the extremely wealthy. They may have experience in the types of financial problems impacting the ultra-wealthy, such as how to avoid property tax. Sometimes, they arrange resources between various experts, such as collaborating on your behalf with a lawyer or an accountant.

Is it a good idea to have a wealth manager?

A wealth manager should be able to help with all your financial planning needs, including, for instance, the management of company income tax implications and the creation of a donor-advised fund for your charitable donations.

Financial advisors may provide wealth managers similar services, but they will also encourage you to buy services on an "a la carte" basis. For instance, if want to meet your retirement needs, some financial advisors will work with you to develop a retirement income plan and pay for that service alone.

If you need help with estate planning, advanced tax assistance or investment advice, securing and maintaining your assets later might be worth opening a wealth management account.

Wealth management vs portfolio management

Wealth management provides investment planning which is higher than fund management. It offers detailed advice on the financial position of a client, including, in some situations, wealth management account, estate and tax planning, accounting, retirement planning and even legal guidance.

Portfolio management involves a service or person who, on behalf of a customer, designs an investment plan. Portfolio management provides investment picking that minimises risk and maximises returns but usually does not include other resources for financial planning.

If those minimums of wealth management are more than you negotiated for, then you do not require one. Although some financial planners often concentrate on ultra-wealthy consumers, there is a rising community of financial advisors working for both affluent and middle-income individuals. Any of these consultants work online.