Friday, November 30, 2012

Debit Cards, Credit Convenience


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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