The best way to bank for young adults
The way one banks in India has been the same for a long time. But the banks have recently been trying to improve. Many of the process ranging from credit card applications to requesting for cheque books can now be done online. But we can all agree that these apps are the worst. They are hard to use, have bad UI. I have even seen a few bank apps crashing quite a few times.
But lately there has been the rise of something known as Neo Banks. These are banks that have no physical branches and are completely based on mobile apps. Neo banks are also known as virtual banks, digital banks, etc.
They provide a more simple and transparent banking process. Many even partners with reputed banks to insure them. Neo banks are basically banks that operate 100% online and have no physical branches. They came into popularity in 2017 and are being heavily marketed. You might even have seen a TV commercial for it.
It is so fast and easy to use. It takes about 5 minutes to create a bank account. You download an app on your phone, you fill out a few details like your name, pan card details, Aadhar card details and others. And done…you have your account ready to use. You might also be required to do a Video KYC (Identity Verification).
I have been using the so-called Neo Banks for about 1.5 years now. And I can't stop recommending it to all of my friends. The one I use is called Fi Money. And it has made banking so much more fast, easy and fun for me.
Some Appealing features of Neo Banks include:
- User Interface: Since the only mode of access to your bank accounts is the app. The app has a simple and intuitive UI. The app includes all the capabilities of a physical bank. You can also use the app to analyse your expenses, download your statements.
- Debit Card: Neo Banks in India have worked on their debit card design. The one I use (Fi Money) has a really great design. It has No charges for ATM withdrawals from any Banks’ ATM. One more interesting feature of my debit card is that it has 0% Forex Markup. There are very few cards in India that provide this feature and Fi Money is one of them.
- Savings Jar: If you eish to save money to buy something, you can use something known as saving jars. Where you can put in money and the money grows at a greater interest rate.
- Investing: You can also use these apps to directly invest in mutual funds and other instruments.
Now many people in India are conservative and will say that it's not safe, you don't know where your money is going et cetera. But in my opinion that is not the case.
For Example, as I have mentioned before I use Fi Money. And for the past 1.5 years I have been using the app for my daily expenses. FI Money has a real smooth UI. It's very appealing and aesthetic. Fi Money has a partnership with Federal Bank. So, you know that it is safe.
But I get it, it's something really new for a lot of people and it will take time for people to use it. But I think it's a really great thing for young adults. People who are new to this stuff. I feel more at ease in using online apps. We have been using apps for almost everything so why not for banking.
In my opinion this is the future of banking and eventually everyone will be using one of these apps. There are a whole lot of other great features and advantages of Neo Banks. So go for it give it, try using it for your expenses, you don't really need to keep your life savings in it.
If you would like to use the one, I have been using and to get Rs.100 in your account use my referral code in the pic below.
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