On my last trip to India, I came across a very frustrating situation. My father had an account with a SBI branch near the place where he used to work. I ?inherited? this account (i.e. set up a new account under my name and have the funds transferred over from my dad?s account) following his death. Having spent most of my adult life in the States and being clueless to the ways traditional banking works in India, I innocently stepped into another SBI branch close to our (or should I say my parent?s) house to withdraw some cash. I must say here that I didn?t/don?t own an SBI ATM card ? so withdrawing cash that way wasn?t an option. When I made my request to the teller, she indicated that since my account was set up with another branch, I had to withdraw my money from there. Now why should this be the case? Maybe I am completely missing something here and apologize for my ignorance. If not, I would like to know if banks are organized as a set of semi-autonomous branches, with each branch only serving customers who have an account with it? Strange indeed! Is this pretty much the norm with all or most Indian banks? What are some of the banks that would allow me to conduct transactions from pretty much any of its branches?
Also do any of the Indian banks offer online services? I am not looking for anything even remotely fancy here (like bill paying provisions or order a demand draft) ? just the basics like checking balances, transferring funds amongst multiple accounts I may have with the bank, checking on cleared checks etc.
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
Some questions related to Indian banks
Some questions related to Indian banks
You will have to convert your account to "Any City" account.
All ICICI/HDFC/Citi offers this. Some computerised SBI branches offer this. You will have to use your cheque book. You can not use debit form at the other branch.
Indian banks have advanced features than US/UK banks. You will have to open A/C from computerised branch from grade 1 cities.
Bobus/Admin, You may move this to regular thread.
All ICICI/HDFC/Citi offers this. Some computerised SBI branches offer this. You will have to use your cheque book. You can not use debit form at the other branch.
Indian banks have advanced features than US/UK banks. You will have to open A/C from computerised branch from grade 1 cities.
Bobus/Admin, You may move this to regular thread.
Some questions related to Indian banks
Computerization at the indian banks were dealyed thanks to the unions and their understanding that computers reduce work force. So, the management decided to do computerisation at branch level and consolidate the accounts at higher level. So, one branch does not know what other branch is doing.
Now several banks have broken the jinx and tried to integrate much closer by implementing what is called "core banking". But that is not completed across all banks and branches yet. It is work in progress.
Several banks like ICICI, HDFC, Citi, HSBC etc allows members to bank anywhere. You can even bank using your mobile.
It is a mistake opening a bank account without knowing what it can offer and complain about that later what it has not promised to do. I see several complaints heaped on Indian banks due to user's ignorance. ( ICICI bank thread is one such example, yes banks do mistakes, but one should at least try to understand whether it is bank's problem or user problem. )
Another common mistake I see is member think all banks in the world are created equal, and think Indian banks work and process in the same way as US banks. It is not true. Banks regulators have certain policies and procedures and banks have to live with that.
For example, if you wish to deposit more than 50K in Indian bank account, you have to mention PAN number in the deposit slip. Banks do TDS in India, while in US banks dont deduct TDS for residents. One has to learn differences like these.
Makes life easier and less stressful. :)
Now several banks have broken the jinx and tried to integrate much closer by implementing what is called "core banking". But that is not completed across all banks and branches yet. It is work in progress.
Several banks like ICICI, HDFC, Citi, HSBC etc allows members to bank anywhere. You can even bank using your mobile.
It is a mistake opening a bank account without knowing what it can offer and complain about that later what it has not promised to do. I see several complaints heaped on Indian banks due to user's ignorance. ( ICICI bank thread is one such example, yes banks do mistakes, but one should at least try to understand whether it is bank's problem or user problem. )
Another common mistake I see is member think all banks in the world are created equal, and think Indian banks work and process in the same way as US banks. It is not true. Banks regulators have certain policies and procedures and banks have to live with that.
For example, if you wish to deposit more than 50K in Indian bank account, you have to mention PAN number in the deposit slip. Banks do TDS in India, while in US banks dont deduct TDS for residents. One has to learn differences like these.
Makes life easier and less stressful. :)
Some questions related to Indian banks
RRK;58097Computerization at the indian banks were dealyed thanks to the unions and their understanding that computers reduce work force. So, the management decided to do computerisation at branch level and consolidate the accounts at higher level. So, one branch does not know what other branch is doing.
Now several banks have broken the jinx and tried to integrate much closer by implementing what is called "core banking". But that is not completed across all banks and branches yet. It is work in progress.
Several banks like ICICI, HDFC, Citi, HSBC etc allows members to bank anywhere. You can even bank using your mobile.
It is a mistake opening a bank account without knowing what it can offer and complain about that later what it has not promised to do. I see several complaints heaped on Indian banks due to user's ignorance. ( ICICI bank thread is one such example, yes banks do mistakes, but one should at least try to understand whether it is bank's problem or user problem. )
Another common mistake I see is member think all banks in the world are created equal, and think Indian banks work and process in the same way as US banks. It is not true. Banks regulators have certain policies and procedures and banks have to live with that.
For example, if you wish to deposit more than 50K in Indian bank account, you have to mention PAN number in the deposit slip. Banks do TDS in India, while in US banks dont deduct TDS for residents. One has to learn differences like these.
Makes life easier and less stressful. :)[/quote]
babu_babu and RRK thank you both for your responses.
RRK - Yes it wouldn't be prudent to expect banks across the world to operate the same way. All I was interested in knowing was the REASON(s) behind the inability to conduct simple transactions in a different branch (of the same bank) other than the one I have opened an account in. Your response pertaining to unions delaying the computerization of banks certainly sheds some light on this matter. Thanks again!
Some questions related to Indian banks
jaihind,
Thanks for taking my post in right spirits.
I used your post to vent out my feelings about the complaints I see in this forum, time to time. People buy into investments and buy products w/o due deligence and understanding and complain later. ULIPS, annuity, life insurance products are some of them.
They are not bad, but they are not meant for every one.
Thanks for taking my post in right spirits.
I used your post to vent out my feelings about the complaints I see in this forum, time to time. People buy into investments and buy products w/o due deligence and understanding and complain later. ULIPS, annuity, life insurance products are some of them.
They are not bad, but they are not meant for every one.
Some questions related to Indian banks
jaihind;57805When I made my request to the teller, she indicated that since my account was set up with another branch, I had to withdraw my money from there. Now why should this be the case?[/quote]
Well, I'm not completely sure how things work in Indian Banks these days...But in the olden days, they verified the signature of the account holder when cashing cheques or withdrawing money. So, I had initially concluded that they did not let you withdraw money at this particular branch 'cause they probably could not validate/verify your signature(?)!.
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Perhaps it's time for me to get myself updated with the latest and greatest. -DJ :cool:
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restlessdesi
- Posts: 276
- Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2007 3:04 pm
Some questions related to Indian banks
#1,
Go with ICICI bank or HDFC. They are fairly similar to US style banking, i.e. being able to deposit/withdraw from multiple branches, ATMs, online banking, bill pay etc. There are subtle differences, you might need to fill up one-time forms to enable bill paying etc.
In addition, they will also SMS you transactions made on your account on your cell#. You can also transfer funds between accounts within India and US as well.
Go with ICICI bank or HDFC. They are fairly similar to US style banking, i.e. being able to deposit/withdraw from multiple branches, ATMs, online banking, bill pay etc. There are subtle differences, you might need to fill up one-time forms to enable bill paying etc.
In addition, they will also SMS you transactions made on your account on your cell#. You can also transfer funds between accounts within India and US as well.
Some questions related to Indian banks
restlessdesi;58146#1,
Go with ICICI bank or HDFC. They are fairly similar to US style banking, i.e. being able to deposit/withdraw from multiple branches, ATMs, online banking, bill pay etc. There are subtle differences, you might need to fill up one-time forms to enable bill paying etc.
[/quote]
Thanks restlessdesi. Yes that's what what I plan to do. I infact recently heard from my sister-in-law (who lives in Delhi) that ICICI reps come to your house, take your pics, and conduct all the paperwork transactions needed to set up your account. I'm not sure if there is a catch, or what kind of initial deposit is required to set up such an account for them to actually come to your house to get your business!
One thing that my original post didn't explicitly mention was that I had very little choice in the setting up of my SBI account. My father had passed away suddenly and I had barely a week to fly out to India, arrange all the funeral rites, take care of his banking assets, etc and be back in USA again. When I initially approached SBI with the news of my father's death (along with his passbook, checkbook, nominee slip, death certificate etc.), I was told that I first needed to set up an account (with SBI) and then move funds over from his account to mine. Because of time constrains, I didn't even have the opportunity to explore whether I could have withdrawn the cash from his account, cash a couple of FDs he had with the bank (and deposit the proceeds in a different bank of my choice) - or if they would even allow me to do it. I'm not sure about the pertinent regulations on this matter. Does anyone know for sure?
Some questions related to Indian banks
One of the things (based on my personal experiences) that I would recommend folks contemplating R2A (and leaving behind bank accounts and FDs in India) is the following: Make sure to designate a nominee for all of these accounts - if I am not mistaken, banks don't mandate you to designate a nominee when you set up an account (although you can indicate one whenever you please). Doing so will greatly reduce the amount of documentation and the processing time required to transfer funds over to the intended beneficiary - something that the beneficiary (if he/she is your NRI kid) will certainly appreciate, given his/her unfamiliarity with how banks typically operate in India.