2023 has ushered in a bevvy of significant changes from a personal finance point of view ranging from new bank locker rules to revisions in credit card reward points norms. These changes will directly impact the lives of the common people in India. Let's take a look at them:
New bank locker rule
A new
bank locker rule has come into effect according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) notification. Many banks have sent text messages to customers over the last few days to renew their safe deposit locker agreements. As part of this, existing locker depositors were required to furnish proof of eligibility for a renewed locker arrangement. Additionally, they were required to sign a renewal agreement by December 31, 2022.
The RBI announced revised guidelines on August 8, 2021, which became effective from January 1, 2022. And now, all the locker owners must show their eligibility for a new locker arrangement and sign a renewal agreement.
New NPS partial withdrawal rule
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has recently issued a
new order regarding National Pension System (NPS) withdrawals, according to which customers of all government sectors will have to submit their application for partial withdrawal through their associated nodal offices. This includes subscribers from central/state government and central/state autonomous bodies.
In simple words, this means that the said subscribers will have to submit supporting documents now to substantiate the reasons for partial withdrawal.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pension regulator, in January 2021, had allowed NPS subscribers to request a partial withdrawal online through self-declaration and documents were not required to be submitted. With the abating of pandemic-related difficulties and relaxation of lockdown restrictions, PFRDA said that the online partial withdrawal facility from NPS through self-declaration will no longer be available for government sector subscribers.
Reward point rules for credit cards
SBI Cards, the pure-play credit card company, has slashed the accrual reward points on online spends at Amazon to 5X reward points. The company has further allowed Cleartrip vouchers to be redeemed in a single transaction only. Users will not be able to club it with any other offer or voucher with effect from January 6, 2023. However, customers will continue to accrue 10X Reward Points on online spends at Apollo 24X7, BookMyShow, Cleartrip, EazyDiner, Lenskart and Netmeds.
Meanwhile,
HDFC Bank has also said that rent payment will not earn reward points, and redemption of reward points on various cards has been capped in certain segments. According to the SMS sent to its select customers, the redemption of reward points for flights and hotel bookings on the bank’s SmartBuy portal is now capped per calendar month at 1,50,000 reward points for Infinia cards, 75,000 reward points for Diners Black cards, and 50,000 reward points for all other cards. Similarly, the redemption of reward points for Tanishq vouchers is now capped at 50,000 reward points per calendar month for Infinia cards.
Mandatory to provide KYC details while purchasing insurance
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has made it mandatory for policyholders to
provide Know Your Customer (KYC) details when purchasing any insurance policy from January 1, 2023. This requirement has been put in place to ensure insurance companies have accurate and up-to-date information about policyholders, which can help assess risks associated with providing coverage and prevent fraudulent activities.
Bank statements, passbooks are no longer valid KYC documents for investing in mutual funds
Individual mutual fund investors cannot use bank statements and passbooks as valid proof of identification or proof of address now for completing the Know Your Customer (KYC) process. KYC Registration Agencies (KRAs) have clarified that they will not accept bank statements and passbook copies of individual investors, including NRIs, from January 2023.
However, KRAs said they continue to accept bank statements or passbook copies with entries of at least two months as valid KYC proof for non-individual investors and Hindu Undivided Family (HUF).
