Now Open A Savings Account Online
Sep 05, 2017

Author: PersonalFN Content & Research Team

Harshad, a 25-year old engineer, started working with an Engineering & Construction company last year. He was placed at the off-site project in Ahmedabad for two years. Along with other chores, he had to manage his bank work alone. He wished to open a savings account, but it was tedious for him to do it in person as the bank branch was 50 kilometres away from his workplace.

One day, he learnt about an online facility to open a savings account. Truly, technology has brought a revolutionary change in many aspects of human life, and banking is no exception. Harshad was thrilled to find that the convenience of online banking meant he did not have to personally visit a bank’s branch to open a bank account, fetch account statements, transfer funds, pay utility bills, and so on. Like Harshad, you have the luxury to do it all online in the comfort of your home, office, café, or even while you are on the go.

Opening a savings bank account is the first step in the journey of wealth creation. Saving, and thereafter investing sensibly, is paramount if you wish to accomplish your financial goals.

Here are some characteristics of a savings bank account:

A savings bank account helps you address your liquidity needs, and is principal to your investment activity.
It can help you pay utility bills, transfer money, withdraw, and so on. Plus, most banks offer debit cards, which can be used while shopping as well as earn reward points, get discounts, cash-backs and much more!
Savings accounts have daily withdrawal limits, and you are required to maintain a minimum cash balance unless it specifically is a zero-balance account or a salary account.
A saving account should be opened by everyone, irrespective of economic strata, livelihood, and your residential status. Unlike other banking and financial products, there are almost no restrictions to open a savings bank account. For minors too, a savings bank account can be opened by their parents/guardians.

The documents required to open a savings bank account are:

Address proof (Aadhaar, passport, electricity bill, telephone bill, ration card, etc.)
Photo identification proof (Aadhaar, voter id, PAN card, passport, driving license, etc.)
Age proof (birth certificate, passport, Aadhaar, voter id, PAN card etc.)
Income proof (Salary slips, Form 16, Income-tax Returns, etc.)
Senior citizen card (in case of senior citizens)
2 photographs

There are a variety of saving bank accounts today, with frills and no-frills, with distinguishing features catering to your need. A regular savings account, salary account, senior citizen savings account, youth savings account, zero balance savings account, linked savings account are some of the types of savings bank accounts. Also, facilities such as sweep in deposit, flexi deposit and recurring deposit build in the habit of saving with ease.

How to open a bank account online?

All you got to be is a little net savvy to give your savings a perfect start. The process is simple and user-friendly. Here are some helpful points:

Preferably choose a bank with sound operations and systems, and check the interest rate offered. It’s prudent to opt for a bank which best suits your requirements, not just a bank offering a higher rate of interest.
Log on to the website of the bank you wish to open an account with. Pease note, not all banks have the online account creation facility; but some can arrange a call-back with you.
Fill in the online application form and submit digital copies of your address proof, age proof, income proof, photo identification proof, and photographs. But remember, some banks may require you to send physical copies of these documents for which they will send over an executive.
Your details will be verified by the backend operation team of the bank, and account will be opened for you, almost instantly.

Online banking gives you the power to bank at your ease and convenience.

But, keep in mind these few points when banking online:

Never give your password/pin to anybody –– Sometimes fraudsters posing as bank officials may call you and state there is a problem with your bank account, and may ask for your telephonic pin / customer id / password and so on. Do not share personal bank details with anyone. Even if an official customer care executive asks you any such information, do not disclose it verbally as this could make your account/card vulnerable to frauds.
Be careful about emails asking for your personal details –– Very often people receive emails about having won an amount of prize money. Such emails might ask for your bank account number, password, and other personal details. They might also provide links, which by clicking on it displays a page that appears to be the page of your bank’s website, but in reality, is a fake page that will store your customer id and password when you enter it. So, be extremely careful while entering your personal details and only enter these details on the bank’s official site.
Dispose cards or vital documents carefully –– Dispose expired or redundant debit card and credits when a new card is issued to you. (For instance, recently several credit card companies replaced the customer's credit card with a chip and pin card). In order to avoid the misuse of your card, the old card must be cut into several pieces before disposal. Similarly, in case you want to dispose any important documents which contain details of your address, contact number, date of birth, etc., ensure that you tear up or shred these before discarding.

Be in complete control of your personal finance and safeguard yourself from the online bugs and theft.

Make the best of the services and ease offered by these banks. Save more and invest more. Enjoy the benefit of cashless banking. As many of the saving accounts also offer a debit card for free. These can be used for withdrawals, shopping, etc., and can earn you some reward points, get discounts, earn cash-backs and much more!

As regards to the average monthly balance requirements and fees, it varies depending on the type of savings bank account. Currently, the interest rate for a savings account ranges from 3.0% to 6.0%, depending on the daily account balance with the advantage of a better rate for those maintaining a higher account balance.

So, while it could be sensible to park short-term or near-term money in a savings bank account, exploring other alternatives is as important. This way, your hard-earned money can grow and counter inflation more effectively.

Remember, saving enough and investing it prudently with the needed financial discipline are important ingredients for your long-term financial wellbeing. Begin your journey today!

Happy Saving!