ATM transactions dip 9% in November

Now, use your debit card for inter-bank fund transfers at ATM centres

If you need to transfer money from, say, your YES Bank account to a customer of Union Bank of India, you can now do so through your debit card, by visiting an ATM. Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, Andhra Bank, Saraswat Co-operative Bank and YES Bank have come together to allow inter-bank fund transfers through debit cards.

 ATM transactions dip 9% in November

 Higher withdrawals for Diwali coupled with banks limiting free ATM withdrawals led to a drop in the number of ATM transactions across the country. Transactions dropped 9%from 26.8 crore in October 2014 to 24.4crore in November, data from NPCI showed.

Banks set to kick off lending rate cuts

Banks’ decision to lower deposit rates might not augur well for depositors, but it has certainly offered borrowers a reason to celebrate.

 Banks now borrow at floating rate

 In keeping with the recommendations of the Urjit Patel Committee, RBI decided to move to the term repo mechanism in October last year. This was done for two reasons. One, RBI didn’t want to extend unlimited funds to banks at a fixed rate. Two, it wanted to make sure that its policy rate changes were quickly passed on to borrowers.

Good days ahead for accountants, says ICAI chief

 The convergence of Indian accounting practices with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), set to begin in the next financial year, will boost FDI inflows to the country, says Mr. K Raghu, President of the ICAI. IFRS, a common global accounting system for companies, has been adopted by over 100countries.

FIBP role shrinks amid easier FDI flows

The role of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), a vestige of India’s intractable bureaucracy, has been reduced to a minimal level. About one and a half decades ago, the FIPB used to vet 80% of foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals in terms of value. However, in 2013-14, it sat in judgment over less than 5% of these proposals, according to data compiled by the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP).

Data security is paramount for a company: Citi MD

 Data protection and security are critical for a company as customers will walk away if they believe they cannot trust them, according to Mr. Vikram Subrahmanyam, Managing Director and Head (Operations and Technology), South Asia, Citibank at CIO summit 2014, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry on the theme ‘Keeping Pace with IT security and Compliance’.