If you thought you never needed to worry over being charged for using any bank's ATM for all transactions, think again! Effective 1st July, the Reserve Bank of India has put a cap on the number of transactions in ATMs other than those of your own bank at five a month. Transactions include financial such as balance enquiries and non-financial transactions such as cash withdrawals or PIN changes. The limit also includes multiple transactions in a single visit

All that glitters

For those looking to buy gold coins, Dhanlaxmi Bank has come out with its ‘Dhan' gold coins recently. These 24-carat coins will be available at the bank's 275 branches across the country. They come in a tamper proof pack and in two denominations of five and ten grams. 'Dhan' gold coins also have a purity of 99.99 per cent and will carry Assay certification, signifying highest purity of gold as per international standards.

No more queues

On your next visit to a State Bank of India (SBI) branch, you may not need to fill up any forms, count denominations and stand in a queue. Simply carry your ATM/Debit card to transact a host of routine businesses, thanks to ‘green channel counters' and ‘no queue banking' introduced by the bank in over 5,000 branches across the country. You can just walk into a branch and swipe your ATM/debit card in the transaction processing device kept for the purpose. You will then be able to choose your transactions such as cash deposit, withdrawal and funds transfer from the menu.

New Gold cards

Premium customers of Lakshmi Vilas Bank will now be eligible for the newly introduced ‘Visa Debit Gold Card', in addition to the classic card that is currently being issued by the bank. The card has a transaction limit of Rs 50,000 in an ATM and Rs 1,00,000 in point of sales terminals. Each cardholder will also get a free personal accident insurance policy worth Rs 2,00,000 . Savings Bank account holders can avail this facility if a certain average balance is maintained. Besides, customers can also enjoy the benefits of loyalty points which can be exchanged for gifts.

Delay in health insurance portability

If you have been thinking of moving from one health insurer to another, you may have to wait longer to switch. The IRDA has postponed the date for implementation of health insurance portability by three months to October 1. This is because the insurance industry is taking longer than expected to build a platform to port health policies. IRDA is setting up a web-enabled facility and is urging insurers to have all the details pertinent to health policies of customers on the portal. This would make access to information easy for the customer's new insurer. As health insurance portability kicks off bythe deadlines set by the regulator, health insurance policyholders can switch insurers without having to lose on waiting period and no-claim bonus.

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Keep an eye on your PF numbers

Companies that have been cutting ‘basic wages' and bridging it by paying conveyance allowance and other special allowances to employees to reduce their provident fund (PF) liability will be in trouble soon. A recent ruling by the Madhya Pradesh High Court (in the case of Montage Enterprises) has brought more clarity on the components of salary that will form part of basic wages for determination of PF contribution by a company. The court has held that certain allowances like conveyance allowance, transportation allowance and special allowance should be treated as part of basic wages for the purpose of PF liabilities if the same are being paid uniformly, necessarily and ordinarily to all employees. The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (‘EPFO') has in a recent internal communication forwarded the aforesaid judgment to its officers and directed them to utilise this judgement as per the merits of the case.

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