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Come 2023, the new year will open a fresh chapter in our financial lives. But this day will also mark the coming into effect of a raft of money-related rules that may impact all of us. From credit card reward points, to NPS partial withdrawal rules, to mandatory KYC documents for buying insurance policies, and to revised bank locker rules, here is how rules governing them are going to change. Read on.
NPS partial withdrawal
Starting January 1, the online partial withdrawal facility from NPS through self-declaration will no longer be available for government sector subscribers, according to pensions watchdog PFRDA. Given the new norm, this rule change can impact subscribers from the Central government, State government, and Central autonomous bodies.
Remember, how in January 2021, PFRDA had allowed partial withdrawals under NPS through self-declaration in the backdrop of Covid-19 pandemic? Now, it it will be mandatory for all the government sector subscribers to submit their requests through their associated nodal offices. However, partial withdrawal facility through the self-declaration process will continue to be available to voluntary non-government NPS subscribers, which means all citizens and corporate NPS users.
Bank lockers
All leading banks are expected to have issued the locker agreement to holders before January 1, 2023, as the new locker rules will be implemented from that date. As per RBI’s revised guidelines, banks will have to ensure that any unfair terms or conditions are not incorporated in their locker agreements. Further, the terms of the contract cannot be more onerous than required in the ordinary course of business to safeguard the interests of the bank. In what is being seen as more user-friendly rules, banks can be asked to pay in case of any loss of locker content resulting from the bank’s negligence, as per the new guidelines. Customers can get up to 100 times the bank charges if the valuables stored in the vaults are robbed or destroyed due to fire or building collapse.
Credit card reward points
Starting 2023, different credit card players, including some of the biggest, are tweaking their reward point scheme for plastic payments. From January 1, SimplyCLICK/SimplyCLICK Advantage SBI Card will cut the accrual reward points on online spends at Amazon.in to 5X reward points from 10X reward points. Thankfully, the card will continue 10X reward points on online spends at Apollo 24X7, BookMyShow, Cleartrip, Eazydiner, Lenskart and Netmeds. With effect from January 6, 2023, the Cleartrip voucher issued to SimplyCLICK cardholders on reaching online spend milestone should be redeemed in a single transaction only and cannot be clubbed with any offer/voucher.
Meanwhile, HDFC Bank has sent an SMS to certain credit card customers regarding the revision in the credit card reward points programme and fee structure with effect from January 1. The bank has said rent payments will not earn reward points, and redemption of reward points on various cards has been capped in certain segments. Note, the redemption of reward points for flight and hotel bookings on the bank’s SmartBuy portal will be capped per calendar month at 1,50,000 reward points for Infinia cards, 75,000 reward points for Diners Black cards, and 50,000 reward points for all other cards.
Insurance KYC
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has made it mandatory for policyholders to give Know Your Customer (KYC) details when buying any insurance policy. This will come into effect from January 1, 2023 and applies to all types of insurance — life, general and health insurance. This requirement has been put in place so as to ensure insurers have accurate and up-to-date information about policyholders. Previously, only at the time of claim in case of health insurance policies, especially if the claim was for amount greater than ₹1 lakh was the customer required to submit PAN card and Aadhaar. It appears the new norms have shifted the KYC requirement from at the time of claim to at the time of policy purchase.
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