As 2020 enters, we witness a plethora of new rules on the personal finance are shaping up for a better consumer experience. Technology has changed the way we experience our day to day life. For example, the arrival of Amazon and Flipkart has changed the way people buy things. Most people now don’t run down to the local shop to buy something, they rather prefer to buy it through Amazon or Flipkart which also have a return policy on certain products. 

Due to this shift in the consumer behavior, e-wallets are much more in demand than having physical assets. Money can be transferred at any point of time to anyone. Such an innovation gives rise to frauds too and we have been hearing about some or the other scams every now and then. Hence, to secure consumers from such frauds and enable access of money 24×7, banks have taken up the task along with implementing some form of checks too. Do read the new rules set to change the way you experience the digital age.

Old magstripe cards give way to EVM cards

All old debit and ATM cards with a magstripe or magnetic stripe have ceased to work from January 1. Although it can be replaced with a new EMV chip debit card from the respective bank free of cost. According to guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), all banks have been asked to convert old debit cards into the new EMV-based cards.

Old magstripe card will get blocked due to RBI directive to discontinue their operation. If you can see a chip on the face of your debit or an ATM card, then you already have an EMV chip card which doesn’t require replacement. In case it is missing then you need to replace it with a new one.

EMV cards come with a small microchip that protects buyers against fraudulent transactions. It creates dynamic data every time you make a transaction which makes it impossible for cloning the card.

NEFT charges are waived off.

The Reserve Bank of India has made NEFT online transfers a 24×7 process with effect from December 16. And now from January 1, banks have been instructed to waive off online NEFT charges for savings bank account holders. Several banks had made NEFT free already earlier. NEFT transfers made at bank branches will continue to be chargeable as before.

Developments in case of withdrawals from SBI ATM 

If a person has a State Bank of India (SBI) ATM card then they might require an OTP which is a one-time password to withdraw cash. With effect from January 1, SBI has introduced OTP-based ATM withdrawal for transactions above ₹10,000 between 8 pm to 8 am. However, if a person is withdrawing cash from a non-SBI ATM then OTP will not be required.

New rules for MDR charges

Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges will not be applicable on transactions through home grown RuPay and UPI platforms from 2020. All companies with a turnover of rupees 50 crore or more will be mandated to provide the facility of payment through RuPay Debit card and UPI QR code to their customers.

Changes in Income Tax Return filing

This is for people who had missed the August 31 deadline for filing their income tax return (ITR), then now they can do so by the end of this financial year which is FY 2020. However, for all belated ITRs filed from January 1, a penalty of ₹10,000 will be imposed.

Extension in linking PAN Card to Aadhar

Incase of a person’s PAN card which is not yet linked to Aadhaar, then it will not be declared inoperative or not in use from January 1 as the income tax department has extended the 31 December deadline to 31 March.

– Jinay Savla