Business Desk, ETV Bharat: Starting 1 December 2020, a slew of changes will be coming to effect that may have a direct impact on the common man’s financial handlings.
From a change in RTGS timings and LPG prices to revised ATM cash withdrawal rules for Punjab National Bank (PNB) customers, here’s a detailed look at all these changes:
RTGS timings
The Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) payment system will be available round the clock from 1 December 2020, as announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in October.
“India will be among very few countries globally with a 24x7x365 large value real time payment system. This will facilitate innovations in the large value payments ecosystem and promote ease of doing business,” RBI governor Shaktikanta Das had said.
Till now, the RTGS service window for customer transactions was available to banks from 7 am to 6 pm on all working days, except second and fourth Saturdays of every month. But that will change from 1 December.
The RTGS system is primarily meant for large-value money transfer transactions between bank accounts. The minimum amount to be remitted through RTGS is Rs 2 lakh with no upper or maximum ceiling.
LPG prices may change
Though no announcement has been made so far, LPG or cooking gas cylinder prices are highly likely to be revised from 1 December 2020.
Notably, LPG prices in India are determined by state-run oil marketing companies and are revised on a monthly basis depending on the crude oil rates in the international markets.
Domestic LPG prices have been kept constant in the past few months to provide some financial relief to the people in times of a pandemic. But with crude oil rising to pre-Covid levels this month, it would be interesting to see how prices are modified.
Cash withdrawal at PNB ATMs
In order to minimise unauthorized transactions at ATMs, Punjab National Bank (PNB) will introduce OTP-based cash withdrawal system at its ATMs from 1 December 2020.
PNB on its official Twitter handle said, “Save the dates! PNB 2.0 is launching OTP-based cash withdrawals from 1st December 2020. Making withdrawals easy, banking easier.”
The bank said in a statement that customers would need to submit OTP sent on their registered mobile phone if they are withdrawing more than Rs 10,000 between 8 pm and 8 am from 1 December. For withdrawals below Rs 10,000, OTP would not be required.
To recall, State Bank of India (SBI) had introduced a similar system in January where customers could withdraw Rs 10,000 and above from 8 pm to 8 am only after an OTP verification. But in September, it extended the OTP requirement for the full day.
