Banking - General Knowledge Questions

Private sector lender IDFC First Bank on Thursday(15th Sep 2022) announced the start of its integration with ‘payments on WhatsApp’ to enable simple and secure FASTags recharge for the Bank’s customers.

 

* IDFC FIRST customers will now be able to recharge their FASTags right within IDFC FIRST’s WhatsApp chatbot and complete the transaction from within the chat thread, the bank in a statement said.

 

* “IDFC FIRST Bank customers can get started by just sending ‘Hi’ to the Bank’s official WhatsApp chatbot number at +919555555555," it added.

 

* The recharge process will be a smooth one that allows payments in two easy stages. Customers must enter the amount and authenticate the transaction using an OTP after choosing the recharge option in the WhatsApp chat. They will then receive a message confirming the transaction.

 

* Millions of FASTag customers that utilise the Bank, this new feature will enable users to pay for their recharge using “payments on having to sign into any other mobile app or net banking platform.

 

* Users may now send and receive money via Unified Payment Interface (UPI) from their friends as simple as sending a WhatsApp message thanks to the “Payments on WhatsApp” feature.

 

* ‘Payments on WhatsApp’ is built with a rigorous set of security and privacy principles with user safety at its core, including entering a unique UPI-PIN for each payment..

Source : Mint

CSB Bank Limited on Friday(16th Sep 2022) announced the appointment of "Pralay Mondal" as the managing director and chief executive officer of the bank for a period of three years starting 15 September.

 

Pursuant to the approval received from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 15 September 2022, the board of directors of the Bank in its meeting held on the same day approved the appointment.

 

Mondal joined CSB Bank as president, retail, SME, operations and IT on 23 September, 2020 and was appointed as the deputy MD with effect from 17 February. He was the interim MD and CEO of the bank with effect from 1 April till date in the absence of a regular CEO and MD.

 

Prior to joining CSB Bank, Mondal was Executive Director and Head, Retail Banking at Axis Bank..

Source : Mint

IndusInd Bank has approved the re-appointment of Sumant Kathpalia as managing director and chief executive officer for three years with effect from March 24, 2023, the private lender informed exchanges.

 

The re-appointment is subject to approval from the lender’s shareholders and the Reserve Bank of India.

 

Kathpalia was appointed as MD & CEO of IndusInd Bank in March 2020.

 

“He is responsible for the Bank's overall business strategy & execution, financial management, managing investor relations, mergers & acquisitions, evaluation of inorganic growth opportunities, digitization, compliance and governance,” the bank said.

 

Prior to joining IndusInd Bank, Kathpalia had stints with Citibank, Bank of America and ABN Amro..

Source : Business Standard

Federal Bank was ranked 63rd on the Best Workplaces in Asia 2022 and becomes the only bank in India to be listed by Great Place to Work, the global authority on workplace culture.

 

The list is based on over one million survey responses across Asia and West Asia, representing the experience of over 4.7 million employees in the region.

 

This recognition is based on confidential survey data assessing employee experiences of trust, innovation, company values and leadership. Companies are also evaluated on how well they are creating For All workplace experience, inclusive of all employees no matter who they are or what they do.

 

Ajith Kumar KK, President and Chief Human Resources Officer of the Bank said, “We are extremely glad on being recognized as one amongst the Best Workplaces in Asia 2022, the only Indian Bank to be featured in this list. I gratefully acknowledge the contribution of every Federal towards this. Great employees make a place great to work.”.

Source : The Hindu Businessline

Announcing a partnership with branchless banking network PayNearby, a senior executive of Axis Bank said on Wednesday(7th Sep 2022) that such tie-ups would aid the private lender in achieving priority sector lending aims.

 

“The priority sector targets that we have in our own business, if we have a shortfall, we have to build up through PSLCs (priority sector lending certificate) or something else. It is ensuring that we meet the requirements of the bank,” said Munish Sharda, group executive and Head of Bharat Banking.

 

Axis Bank aims to meet its priority sector lending targets in an organic manner, taking advantage of the PayNearby’s distribution-as-service network of 50 lakh micro businesses.

 

The tie-up will be used to set up current and savings accounts for both retail and individual customers in remote areas..

Source : Business Standard

HDFC Bank has unveiled Wednesday(7th Sep 2022) its state-of-the-art ‘Bank on Wheel’ van in Gujarat. The Bank in Wheel van service will take banking services to unbanked villages.

The Bank in Wheel van will visit remote villages located 10-25 km from the nearest branch to further financial inclusion, under the HDFC Bank’s newly initiated Rural Banking Business. 

The van was flagged off by Shri Dhavalkumar R Patel, Taluka Development Officer, Ankleshwar at a function organised in Ankleshwar Taluka Panchayat office, in the presence of Mr Anil Bhavnani, Sr Executive Vice President and National Rural Banking Head, HDFC Bank, and other senior bank officials.

 

* The Bank in Wheel initiative is a part of a pilot project to offer banking services in unbanked locations.

* Customers can access 21 banking products as well as services.

* The Bank in Wheel van will be operational at each location for a specific period and will cover 3 villages in a day.

* The Bank in Wheel van will reach and visit each village twice a week.

* HDFC Bank is one of India’s Premier Banks providing a wide range of financial products and services using multiple distribution channels including a pan-India network..

Source : Mint

On Tuesday(6th Sep 2022), ESAF Small Finance Bank Ltd. introduced a "Rainbow Savings Account" with a number of features designed specifically for the transgender community, including a high savings rate and cutting-edge debit card capabilities.

 

A trans-friendly or inclusive workplace culture is urgently needed, and this is a significant step toward the inclusive revolution, according to a statement from Kerala-based ESAF Small Finance Bank.

 

In 2015, the Reserve Bank of India ordered banks to add a distinct column labeled "third gender" to all of their applications and forms..

Source : India info line

* As part of the financial inclusion drive, public sector banks will open about 300 brick-and-mortar branches in the unbanked areas of various states by December 2022.

 

* These new branches will cover all remaining unbanked villages with a population of more than 3,000, according to sources.

 

* A Maximum number of 95 branches will be opened in Rajasthan followed by 54 in Madhya Pradesh.

 

* The public sector banks will open 38 branches in Gujarat, 33 in Maharashtra, 32 in Jharkhand and 31 in Uttar Pradesh..

Source : Business Standard

HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector lender, has started a new "SMS banking" facility for its customers, through which the customers can now access a wide range of banking services round-the-clock. The services include checking account balances and summaries, managing credit cards, applying for loans, requesting for chequebook, or generating account statements.

 

“Banking services are now a text away! #BankOnUs and access a wide range of banking services from wherever you are, round-the-clock. 24/7 x 365! To get started, SMS “Register" ; “Last 4 digits of customer ID" ; “Last 4 digits of account number" to 7308080808," HDFC Bank has said in a tweet.

 

SMS Banking is a service that allows customers to perform banking transactions on their mobile phone via SMS. Just type their query and send to 7308080808 to get a response on SMS Banking-registered mobile number.

 

The new SMS banking is currently available only in the English language. Customers can now undertake SMS banking operations from anywhere in India or overseas if they have national or international roaming enabled on their mobile device, without any cost.

 

 

To register for SMS Banking, customers need to visit an HDFC Bank ATM, insert the debit card and then enter the PIN. Thereafter, they need to go to ‘More Options’ on the homepage and enter their registered mobile number and then tap ‘Confirm’. Following this, the customer will receive a confirmation message on their mobile. The registration is done.

 

New SMS Banking registration is not available in net banking. “You can Register for SMS Banking by sending SMS from Bank Registered mobile number," HDFC Bank said.

 

It said, “If you register through by sending an SMS on 7308080808, you will be able to access SMS Banking instantly. If you fill in the application form to register for SMS Banking, it will take 4 working days to complete the registration process from the time you submit your application form."

 

 

* Balance Enquiry

 

* Cheque Book Request

 

* Account Statement Request

 

* Recent 7 Days Transactions

 

* FD Summary

 

* Debit Card Dispute

 

* Loans — Personal Loan, Auto Loan, Business Loan, Consumer Durable Loan

 

* Credit Card — View Reward Points, Convert Big Spends To EMI, Credit Card Dispute

 

* FastTag Registration

 

* Open Fixed Deposits

 

* Insurance – Both life insurance and general insurance..

Source : News18

The Board of Directors of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd. has appointed veteran banker Krishnan Sankarasubramaniam (aka S Krishnan) as the Managing Director & CEO with effect from 4th September 2022 as term of the incumbent MD & CEO K V Rama Moorthy ends on 3rd September 2022, the bank said in a press note.

 

Prior to joining the Bank, Krishnan was the MD & CEO of Punjab and Sind Bank from 4th September 2020 to 31st May 2022. During his period there was total transformation of the Bank be it digital, IT, risk, compliance, monitoring, recovery, business development or HR. He played a crucial role in bank’s turnaround leading to bank registering highest ever profit in 2021-22..

Source : Economic Times