This
article was originally published in Postnoon on November 30, 2012
Laxmiamma was a happy soul.
Instead of keeping her savings under the mattress, she had opened up a bank
account and had started a recurring deposit on my insistence. The obligation of
putting aside the money for the deposit every month, made her save more. Also, she
had no choice when tempted to buy unnecessary food or household articles as
there was no money lying around at home to do so. Now she had accumulated
enough money to buy back her jewellery from the jeweller, which she had sold
way back in 2002, when her husband died and she needed some money to tide over
the bad times.
She invited me home to celebrate
the liberation of her jewellery, over a cup of Irani chai and biscuits. While
chit chatting with her about the weather, she told me that she needs to go to the
bank to withdraw some cash the next day. I was surprised. In this day and age,
who goes to the bank to withdraw cash, unless the amount is very large?
On being asked, she said,
"then how else does one withdraw cash?"
Nicky: Haven't you seen ATMs
around?
Laxmiamma: I have heard about
them, but I thought that those are not for people like us. I thought those are
for the rich.
Nicky: Nonsense. It's for
everyone who has an account with the bank.
Laxmiamma: How? And what is an
ATM? I have seen the large box like things around, but don't know how that
shells out cash!
Nicky: An ATM or an Automated
Teller Machine is a machine which counts and gives out the amount of cash that
you want, after ensuring that your bank account has the desired amount. Did you
get a small card when you opened an account?
Laxmiamma: Yes I did. But I just
kept it away safely.
Nicky: That is a Debit Card. The
card carries a unique number, which is linked to your savings account. You can
use this card to withdraw and deposit cash, transfer money to other accounts,
pay your bills, look at your account balance and statement for the last few
transactions, all through the ATM. You can even use this card at shops to pay.
The money will be directly debited to your account, provided you have enough
money in the account. So, you do not need to carry cash with you when you go
shopping. But of course, you can't use it when you shop at smaller
establishments like kirana shops or vegetable carts.
Laxmiamma: Ah see, its of no use
to me then! I don't go to the malls like you.
Nicky: You miss the point. Apart
from shopping, there are so many other uses of debit cards and ATM. You
conveniently ignored that!
Laxmiamma (sheepishly):
Uh...hmmm...I heard. I'll use this card to withdraw cash from now on. But what
about safety? Can anyone with my card withdraw money from my account?
Nicky: No. There will be a 4
digit password given to you from the bank. You need to key in that password for
authenticating the transaction. Also, you can change this password if you want.
Don't share the password with anyone.
Laxmiamma: Ah...I forgot to tell
you about this new recipe for karela burji...you might want to try it out!
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