Contactless banking: Open digital saving account from comforts of your home

You don’t always need to visit a bank to open a bank account. Several banks now give you a chance to open a digital account while sitting from the comforts of your home or office. Digital account can simply be opened through an app on your smartphone without the need to visit the bank’s branch. And just like the regular bank you can transact anytime and anywhere.

All you need is to complete know your customer (KYC) formalities using PAN and Aadhaar number. There are many banks offering digital savings account such as DBS Bank’s Digibank, Kotak Mahindra Bank’s ‘811’ and RBL’s digital savings account. Here are some of the features of digital savings account:

Minimum Balance: The minimum balance requirement may differ from bank to bank. While many banks do not require any minimum balance, a few banks ask you to maintain some minimum balance. For example: Kotak 811 is a zero balance digital bank account. For RBL you need to keep an average balance of Rs. 5,000 in your account. You can, however, get a waiver for average balance requirement if you start an SIP or recurring deposit worth Rs 2,000 or more.

Interest Rate: Digital bank account-holders enjoy the same rate of interest as customers with the bank’s branches. According to RBI regulations, interest on digital savings accounts is calculated on a daily balance basis based on the funds at the end of each working day. Interest gets credited on a quarterly basis. Consider this: Kotak Mahindra Bank’s 811 bank and DigiBank savings account offer an interest rate of 4% per annum. Similarly, on the initial balance of Rs. 1 lakh, RBL Bank gives an interest rate of 4.75% and 6.50% on balance between Rs 3 and Rs 5 crore.

Withdrawals: Before going for a digital bank also check about the number of withdrawals allowed. Generally transactions at other banks’ ATMs are charged from sixth transaction onwards. In a few, they are no restrictions. For example RBL website states that there is no limit on the number of ATM withdrawals. You can withdraw as much as you wish each month.

Virtual Debit Card: You can also apply for virtual debit cards, which can be used for online shopping, payment at merchant outlets or paying bills.

With digital savings account, contactless banking is a way to go in future.