Do you use a money wallet? If not, then you should – it’s the most convenient way to manage your money.
A lot of people these days are using mobile or money wallets. The rise in usage can also be attributed to the fact that after demonetisation happened in November 2016, people are afraid of running out of cash. Thus, they make use of money wallets to manage their finances digitally.
A money wallet is simply an app on your phone that stores your payment information and which is linked to your bank account or debit/credit card. However, they work only with retailers or payment terminals that have the same money wallet as you do. While some of them may be pre-loaded on your smartphone, others can be downloaded from iTunes or Google Play Store.
Consider the 3 most important things that money wallets do:
* Facilitate bill payments.
Most money wallets today are being used for bill payments. These bills could range from utility bills (power, water, gas, cable, landline), phone bills (prepaid or postpaid), DTH, broadband, etc. A single money wallet can help you pay all your bills and even get periodic discounts and cash back offers on doing so. For instance, the myAirtel app powered by Airtel has the quite excellent Airtel Payments Bank option. This money wallet also doubles up as a savings account with your 10-digit Airtel number as the account number. Plus, it offers a high 7.25% interest on the cash already loaded in the money wallet.
* Help in payment transfers.
The fundamental use of money wallets is in facilitating payment transfers. This is done via real time transfer between two bank accounts – the wallet is linked to your personal savings or current account, and the money is auto-debited when you initiate the transfer. The digital payment may take a few minutes to go through. You only need to sign up with your mobile number and complete your KYC. Some money wallets also increase their per day Rupee transaction limit once the KYC is complete.
* Let you keep your cash and actual wallet at home.
If you use a UPI (Unified Payments Interface)-based money wallet, then you don’t even need to carry your actual wallet in your bag, nor any cash. The beauty of the UPI system is that it only requires your smartphone to initiate and complete the transaction instantly. You are assigned a unique UPI code for your smartphone – this code is linked to your account – and you only need to authenticate the receiver’s code when effecting a payment. There is an added layer of security in this kind of money wallet since you do not require to know or give up bank details or add a beneficiary. The money is transferred in real time using the IMPS (Instant Money Payment System) model and the transaction is often completed in a few seconds.
