Digital savings account: Check these things first

With the Covid-19 pandemic drastically altering our habits, a nationwide study conducted by NiyoX, a research agency, found that more than 70% of Indians are now inclined towards digital banking. Many banking transactions including opening a savings account, recurring deposit or fixed deposit can be conducted digitally. But before opening an online savings account, you must go through the following half a dozen important things.

Interest rate

One of the most important factors to consider in choosing where to bank is the interest rate offered. Now a days interest rate of a savings bank account is stands between 2.5% and 3%. But still some bank offers more than 6% interest in savings account.

So before opening a savings bank account digitally, one must tally the interest rate of banks.

Banking fees

Most of the banks in India expect account holders to keep a minimum balance in the account and whenever it is not maintained, they charge a penalty.

There are multiple fees that banks charge from their customers. Some of these are balance maintenance fees, SMS charges, ATM card charges, returned cheque fees, out-of-network ATM fees, etc. In such a situation, while opening a digital account, check the fee chart. It’s best to choose the account with the lowest fees.

Also check if there are special charges for online account opening. Currently some banks are charging it from customers.

Checking website and app

Always open the savings account from office website and app. Do not open any link sent by anybody over mail or WhatsApp, because it could be a trap.

Check the website and app twice before filling up the account opening form and proceed only if you are confident enough.

Choose the best

Nowadays, all the leading commercial banks are offering online banking facilities. Most digital savings accounts offer smooth technical and user experience. Many financial institutions offer 24×7 customer support, expense tracker, option to set limits on various transactions – UPI, point of sale, online platforms, lock and unlock debit card through app, etc.

Apart from these, different facilities are provided by the banks. Therefore, while opening a digital account, choose an institution where you will get many facilities.

Digital lending

Several banks offer attractive rates of interest to customers who are applying for a loan digitally. Know these details of the bank you consider opening an account.

If you ever plan to take a loan, it is always better to know all the details in advance. When the time comes to ask for a loan, you may very well benefit from low rates of interest.

Customer support

Customer service is of absolute importance in the world of banking. In case you run into any trouble, you should be able to contact the customer support immediately and get them to resolve the issue. Whether it is a stolen debit card or inability to transfer funds, the bank should be able to provide prompt customer service to minimise your travails.