Meal Cards – ING Vysya Bank-a new player

Meal Cards – ING Vysya Bank a new player

ING Vysya Bank, a Leading Private Sector Bank has introduced the Meal Card.

A brief articles of the occasion can be accessed at

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/08/22/stories/2009082251460600.htm

ING Vysya Bank’s Meal Card will be accepted at all Maestro Merchant Establishments.

It is be noted that in India, Meal Cards are being mainly issued by Private Banks. So far, no Public Sector Bank has introduced the Meal Card.

My guess is State Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Andhra Bank, might take the lead. Or Bank of Baroda, too could.

Let us wait and see, which of the Public Sector Banks, takes the lead.

What is a Meal Card:

Meal Card is a prepaid card designed to replace the inefficient paper voucher system in the market.

It is a far more operationally efficient way to provide your employees with a meal allowance and eliminates the logistical hassles associated with the procurement, stock-keeping and distribution of paper-based Meal Vouchers.

Meal Card’s	Paper Based Vouchers
1. No operational hassles in distribution to employees, issued once and reloaded again and again without any trouble	Monthly distribution of paper coupons, keeping track of stock and reconciliation together give rise to an operation nightmare.
2. Larger acceptance, freedom to use the card at almost 40,000 food and beverage outlets in the MasterCard network.	Limited access to only the few outlets specifically accepting such paper based coupons
3. Easier to handle, the Meal Card is a plastic card to be carried along with your normal debit and credit cards and presented for use anytime you need to pay for some food or beverage items.	Carrying the booklet of vouchers around, counting vouchers every time you need to pay for something is an unnecessary burden best avoided
4. Use your Meal Card for any denomination you want, don't worry if the amount is an odd amount	The Paper vouchers come in specific denominations and while paying you have to pay in those denominations thus resulting at times in loss of some change. Seen in accumulation this change comes quite a large amount, sometimes even the cost of a good meal.

Reserve Bank of India, has already laid down guideline regarding Issuance and Operation of Pre-paid Payment Instruments in India (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2009

The complete Document can be accessed at

http://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/notification/PDFs/RFGF280409.pdf

In brief, the RBI guidelines for clients affiliates and users

The RBI released the "Insurance and Operation of Pre-Paid Payment Instruments in India (Reserve Bank) Direction 2009" on April 27, 2009. These rules have become operative from July 27, 2009.

Accordingly, the Customers and Affiliates are required to comply with the following:

1. Institutions are required to maintain the full details of beneficiaries to whom Vouchers/Payment Instruments are issued.

2. Payment instruments upto Rs 50,000/- can be issued by you provided full KYC of the employee or beneficiary has been completed as prescribed by RBI guidelines.

3. Payment instruments can be issued upto Rs 50,000/- by carrying out customer due diligence. This should be done by companies/institutions by ensuring that they keep full details of the employees/beneficiaries to whom the payment instruments are issued.

4. Customers should make advance payment as the same needs to be deposited in Escrow Account on issuance of vouchers.

5. Customers and Affiliates need to comply with the Know Your Customer / Anti-Money Laundering & Combating Financing of Terrorism Guidelines issued by RBI.

However, recently Income Tax Department has issued guidelines, which might reflect on the growth of Meal Cards in our country.

List of NEFT IFSC’s of Bank Branches – Bank Wise List

List of  NEFT IFSC’s of  Bank Branches – Bank Wise List

What is IFSC code and where would I get it?

Answer:
Indian financial system code (IFSC) means a unique code of 11 digits of the NEFT enabled branches. Normally, this code will be printed on the cheque book OR it may be obtained from the branch where the account is maintained. 

For more details of the meaning of IFSC’s and a brief history of IFSC’s in our country, o visit

http://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com/2009/01/tips-for-instant-rtgs-credit.html

IFSC Code can be compared to the Pincode of Indian Posts. Mentioning the correct Pincode will enable the letter to reach the correct destination faster. Mentioning the correct IFSC Code in a NEFT Transaction will enable the NEFT Transaction to be credited correctly and faster.

In a Core Banking Scenario, wherein all the Bank Branch Accounts are centralized, ideally the IFSC Code is irrelevant. However, Banks advise the correct IFS Code to be mentioned in the transaction, for easy resolution of disputes, if any.

At present, the IFSC Codes are printed on the below left corner of the beneficiary cheque.

However, cheque books are not readily available for immediate reference.

Hence, another source of IFSC Codes, is the respective Bank site.

But the best source is the Reserve Bank of India Site.

The link for the Bank wise IFSC Codes is as under

http://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/bs_viewcontent.aspx?Id=2009

As the excel data is Bank-wise, the download size is also low. The above data is very useful, for executing NEFT Transactions.

Mention the Correct IFS Code and Account Number for immediate ePayment Credits

  

Tirupathi Jewels-One Story-3 different views in 3 Leading newspapers

Tirupathi Jewels-One Story-3 different views in 3 Leading newspapers

Today is a break from the routine,

Telugu Folks, must be familiar with the Tirupathi Jewels Story by now.

I had an opportunity to read the same news in ‘The Hindu’, ‘The Times of India’, ‘Deccan Chronicle’.

Each paper has interpreted the story from a different view.

The Hindu Link

http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/22/stories/2009082255340700.htm

Deccan Chronicle Link

http://dc-epaper.com/DC/DCH/2009/08/22/index.shtml

Times of India Link

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/hyderabad/Tirupati-Pujary-steals-deitys-gold-to-marry-kids/articleshow/4921478.cms

Am wondering which is the correct view, any opinion folks

October 2009, free transactions At ATM’s will be restricted.

  

Come October 2009, the free ride to ATM’s will be restricted.

The Apirl 1, 2009 RBI directive to Banks to remove all charges for ATM Transactions, irrespective of Customer’s Base Bank, seems to be causing havoc  in Banks.

As mentioned  in my posts

  

http://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com/2009/03/all-atm-transactions-pan-india-to-be.html

the number of low-value transactions, is the reason for the cap on free ATM Transactions.

It is understood, that  Reserve Bank (RBI) has fixed third-party ATM withdrawal at Rs 10,000 each time they are used and the number of such transactions to five a month.

It is also understood that  IBA had  recommended a minimum limit of Rs 1,000 on third party ATM withdrawals, this was rejected by the Reserve Bank to protect the interest of small withdrawer.

IBA, which is the industry lobby of Indian banks, had submitted its recommendations to the central bank last month citing the financial burden faced by banks on account of huge number of third-party usage and small-ticket withdrawals.

RBI, which had made third-party ATM transactions free from April this year, has informed the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) in a communication. This decision is expected to be implemented shortly.

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The highlights are

01)  Number of Free Transactions on 3^rd Party ATM’s - 5 per month.

02) Maximum Withdrawal per transactions on 3^rd Party ATM  - Rs10,000/-

03) Transaction fee subsequent to the Free Transactions - Rs20/- per transaction.

04) As per IBA, it is left to the Individual Banks to charge their customers for 3^rd Party ATM Usage or not.

05) The Decision is to be implemented from October 2009.

My suggestion is : -

01) The number of Free Transactions-per month be 10, and the maximum withdrawal per transaction be Rs.5000/-.

02) Indian Banks Association (IBA) should start a campaign highlighting the benefits of Debit Cards at Merchant Establishments. One of the reasons for the low usage of Debit Cards at Merchant Establishments is the Transaction cost, of 1.5-2% charged by the Merchants.

One nagging doubt, why did not the Indian Banks Association (IBA) or the Member Banks, did not foresee the deluge of Transactions on ATM’s, once the transactions are free.

Switch over to Debit Cards-Reduce the Load on ATM’s

Payment of Income Tax through CorpBank ATM

 Payment of Income Tax through CorpBank ATM.

Corporation Bank, has taken a giant leap in ePayments.

Today, i.e 18^th August, 2009, Corporation Bank, has laucned a new scheme, wherein Income Tax can be paid through the Bank’s ATM’s.

This first of its kind, in our country, has been approved with Central Board of Direct Taxes(CBDT)

At present, it is mandatory for firms and individuals having an annual income of more than Rs 10 lakh to file taxes online.

CorpBank customers, to avail this facility, first need to register at their branch. In case the tax amount could not be credited due to any reason, transaction amount will be re-credited to customers account immediately. In all cases, the customer will get an SMS. The taxpayer will receive email with the tax paid details and the receipt on payment of his tax in the ATM..

The complete brouchure can be accessed at

http://corpbank.com/uploadedfiles/custom/12_53_480_6392786.pdf

.
Incidentally, Corporation Bank, was the first bank in India, to launch NEFT Payments through ATM’s, a year back.

And,now another first, Payment of Incometax through Corpbank ATM.

However, I wish Corporation Bank, introduces Internet Banking Kiosks.

Certain branches may have internet kiosks, or off-site internet kiosks, where customers can do their banking online, using the computer provided, with 100% security

Of course, in one of future posts, I will deal in detail about Kiosks for internet banking.

Till than, pay your Taxes, through Corporation Bank’s ATM.