Like March, April will be a hectic month if you are a mutual fund investor or a prospective insurance policyholder.
In April existing investors need to validate their mobile number/email id, otherwise they cannot transact in their mutual fund portfolios.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority’s (IRDAI) rules on mandatory e-insurance accounts for fresh policies sold from April 1 will also come into effect. Further, several banks are reducing the benefits on their credit cards. Let’s look at some of the most important money changes that’ll impact you during the month.
Existing MF investors need to validate their mobile number/email ID
Existing mutual fund investors need to validate their mobile number/ email ID, otherwise, they cannot transact from April 1. If that is not done, then the investor’s KYC will be put ‘on hold’ with effect from April 1 as per the latest CDSL Ventures communication. To validate these details, investors can click on the following link of CVL KRA Validation and enter their PAN and other details. Upon submission, they will either get a message indicating that their details have been verified or will be sent an OTP to complete the process.
If you are a new MF investor, you must do your KYC based on one of the officially valid documents as specified by the registrar and transfer agents. As per CAMS, valid documents are Aadhaar, voter ID, MNREGA card, etc, and as per KFintech, valid documents are passport, driving licence, voter ID, and proof of possession of Aadhaar number, etc.
If you are investing in a new folio, re-KYC is needed by submitting a physical KYC form along with one of the officially valid documents.
E-insurance now mandatory for all policyholders
The IRDAI mandates the conversion of all effective from April 1. You can convert your existing physical insurance policies into electronic forms or on buying the new policy/renewal insurer will now issue the policy in an electronic form.
An e-insurance account enables policyholders to hold their life insurance and general insurance policies from multiple insurers, in an electronic form. This means they no longer need to keep physical documents pertaining to the policies. An insurance repository holds the records of the policies just like a depository holds details of shares held by an individual.
You can open an e-insurance repository account with the CAMS repository, Karvy Insurance Repository, NSDL National Insurance Repository and Central Insurance Repository of India.
IRDAI’s new product regulations come into effect from April 1
In a blow to policyholders, the regulations which allow smaller payouts on premature exit from endowment policies. Put simply, it scrapped its December 2023 draft that had proposed lower surrender charges (and thus higher surrender values, that is, payouts on early exit). So, if you surrender your policy after paying two annual premiums, you will get only 30 percent of your premiums back. For surrenders in the fifth year, the payout will be slightly higher at 50 percent of premiums paid until then. Many policyholders let their policies lapse once they realise that they have been mis-sold an unsuitable policy or they are unable to pay premiums over the long term.
SBI revises its debit card fees
The State Bank of India (SBI) has revised its debit card fees effective from April 1. The fee for classic/silver/global/contactless debit cards was Rs 125 plus GST. Now, the fee has been hiked by 60 percent to Rs 200 plus GST. Similarly, the fee for prime/premium business debit cards was Rs 350 plus GST and now it will be Rs 425 plus GST. The bank has raised debit card fees across the categories by Rs 75.
Axis Bank revises benefits on its credit card portfolio
Axis Bank has . It has trimmed benefits on travel credit cards as well, which includes the Atlas credit card, and co-branded credit cards such as Vistara Infinite and Vistara Platinum. The changes will be effective from April 20, 2024.
Some of the critical changes are revisions in the EDGE reward points redemption and transfer programme, and the capping of accelerated rewards on travel spends on the Atlas credit card. EDGE rewards from Axis Bank is a loyalty programme that allows customers to earn points across all retail products.
Also, some of the popular services, such as meet-and-greet, concierge, airport transfers, etc, on credit cards are being taken away. A minimum spend of Rs 50,000 is required in the preceding quarter to avail of domestic lounge access. Essential spending categories like utilities, insurance and government payments are excluded from card reward points. On the Reserve card, the annual bonus of 50,000 EDGE reward points has been discontinued.
Banks’ minimum spending criterion on cards for airport lounge access
Effective April 1, ICICI Bank credit cardholders will get one in the preceding calendar quarter. It means that spending made in the preceding calendar quarter will unlock access for the subsequent calendar quarter. For instance, to be eligible for complimentary lounge access in the April-June 2024 quarter, you need to spend a minimum of Rs 35,000 in the January-March 2024 quarter and similarly for the following quarters.
This updated spending criterion to avail complimentary domestic airport lounge access will be applicable to 21 credit cards of ICICI Bank.
Similarly, from April 1, will be able to unlock complimentary domestic lounge access by spending Rs 10,000 or more in a calendar quarter. It means that spending made in the preceding quarter will unlock access for the subsequent quarter.
SBI card discontinues reward points on rent payment transactions
SBI Card has announced that the accrual of reward points on rent payment transactions will be discontinued for certain credit cards effective from April 1. Popular SBI credit cards where reward points will not be applicable on rent payments are AURUM, SBI Card Elite, SBI Card Pulse, SBI Card Platinum and Gold SBI Card.
