All in One Current Affairs

RBS India appoints Punit Sood as its head

January 22, 2020

Punit Sood has been appointed as the head of RBS India, the technology and operations hub of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). In this role, Punit will be building the organisation’s strategic capabilities, supporting the bank to achieve its goals.

Punit was earlier appointed as the Head of Technology India, where he shaped the India Technology business to function as a centre of excellence for RBS. Previously, he was serving as the advisor of Cornerstone Venture Partners Fund, a technology-focused global VC (Venture Capital) funds.

World Gold Outlook 2020: RBI at 6th position in buying gold abroad

January 22, 2020

“World Gold Outlook 2020” has been released by World Gold Council in which it placed Reserve Bank of India on 6th position in the largest buyer of sovereign gold abroad. RBI currently holds 625.2 tonnes of gold which is 6.6% of the country’s foreign exchange.

The other 5 countries that have bought more gold than India include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Poland. Higher taxes have exacerbated the local gold price consumption. The recently introduces new hallmarking reforms are expected to increase consumer trust, remove inefficiencies, promote growth and improve confidence.

RBI cancels certificate of authorisation of Vodafone m-pesa

January 22, 2020

The Reserve Bank of India cancelled the Certificate of Authorisation (CoA) of Vodafone m-pesa after its voluntary surrender of authorisation. Hence, the company cannot transact business of issuance and operation of Prepaid payment Instruments.

However, the customers or merchants having a valid claim on the company as a PSO, can approach the company till September 30, 2022 for settlement of their claims within three years from the date of cancellation, as stated by The Central Bank.

Digital ATM service launched by PhonePe

January 23, 2020

Popular e-commerce company PhonePe has recently launched its new ‘PhonePe ATM’ feature which will allow customers to take cash from merchants offering this facility. The service has been launched on a pilot basis in the Delhi-NCR region on Thursday and will soon be open in other parts of the country if it earns a good response from people there.

There will not be any charges for customers or merchants to avail of this service and the withdrawal limit for customers will be the same as the limit set by their respective banks. The new kind of digital ATM service will help people in withdrawing money without the usage of ATM card and also help people to properly locate a nearby venue for withdrawing cash.

‘Cardless cash withdrawal’ introduced by ICICI Bank

January 23, 2020

ICICI Bank has rolled out “Cardless Cash Withdrawal” service through ATM having a per day transaction limit of Rs 20,000. This service enables customers to withdraw cash from over 15,000 ATMs of the bank without using a debit card 24×7. They can withdraw cash by simply raising a request on iMobile, a mobile banking application.

Speaking on the launch, Executive Director of ICICI Bank Anup Bagchi said the bank will continue to focus on innovations in technology at all channels and touch-points that will bring more convenience to the customers. The bank’s consolidated total assets stood at Rs 12,88,190 crore at September 30, 2019. It is present across 15 countries.

NPCI Vajra, blockchain-based platform launched

January 23, 2020

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched the Vajra Platform to make payments fast and secure. Based on blockchain technology, the primary highlight of the Vajra Platform is that it automates clearing and settlement of payments, drastically reducing the need for manual reconciliation.

The Vajra Platform uses distributed ledger technology (DLT). It uses a permissions model to ensure that only approved parties are a part of the network. Payment companies can apply to be a part of the network. Once approved, they can deploy the platform using an application programming interface (API) that will be provided by NPCI.

RBI ups investment limit for FPIs in govt and corporate bonds

January 24, 2020

The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday raised the investment limit for FPIs in government and corporate bonds to bring in more foreign funds into the market. Currently, short-term investments by a foreign portfolio investors (FPI) should not exceed 20 per cent of the total investment of that FPI in either central government securities (including treasury bills) or state development loans or corporate bonds. The short-term investment limit has now been increased from 20 per cent to 30 per cent in both cases.

The central bank has also made a relaxation in the voluntary retention route (VRR) for FPI investments in debt. The investment cap through VRR has been doubled to ₹1.5 lakh crore. FPIs are also allowed to invest in exchange-traded funds that invest only in debt instruments, it added. The RBI had introduced VRR in March 2019. This helped FPIs to invest in debt markets in India.

New India Co-op Bank to be converted into Small Finance Bank

January 25, 2020

New India Co-operative Bank (NICB) has been decided to be converted into a Small Finance Bank (SFB) after being agreed by its shareholders under Voluntary Transition of Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs) into SFB. NICB will now approach the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Central Registrar of Societies for further action. The bank currently has 31 branches across Maharashtra and Gujarat and has networth of Rs. 230 crores.

Recently, Uttar Pradesh-based Shivalik Mercantile Co-operative Bank has taken the lead among urban co-operative banks to convert into a Small Finance Bank. With two multi-state Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) initiating steps to convert into a SFB, larger UCBs such as Saraswat Co-operative Bank, SVC Co-operative Bank, Bharat Co-operative Bank, Abhyudaya Co-operative Bank and Thane Janata Sahakari Bank, are also expected to weigh the possibility of converting into an SFB.

PhonePe extends to insurance, mutual funds, ATM

January 26, 2020

PhonePe, one of the leading digital payments firms in India backed by global retail giant Walmart, has announced to extend into the insurance, mutual fund and instant-cash segments to tap the fast growing digital payments industry, which is expected to touch $10 trillion by 2027.

The Bengaluru-based fintech firm has announced two major tie-ups with Aditya Birla SunLife Mutual Fund and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. PhonePe’s tie-up with Aditya Birla Sun Life Capital will allow its users invest in liquid fund. Under its tie-up with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, PhonePe offers its users cover on up to 1 million kilometres internal travel for a starting price of just Rs 216.

It also offers users instant refunds with no cancellation charges before the travel start date, and 24×7 international travel assistance to them throughout the journey, across 220 countries. Both leisure and business travellers can purchase travel insurance on the PhonePe app.

New Delhi based start-up Loanwalle.com offers loan in 15 minutes

January 27, 2020

The New Delhi-based fintech start-up Loanwalle.com, offers loans for a period of 7 to 30 days, to cater to any medical or financial emergencies in 15 minutes. The firm is founded by Sachin Mittal. The USP of the fintech firm, lies in providing instant loan facility to individuals stuck in a crisis situation, through speedy approval of loans.

One can get a loan approved in 15 minutes, while generally the process including online and physical verification is completed in an hour. The amount of loan can range from Rs 5,000 to Rs 1 lakh with less cumbersome process. The interest rate is 1 per cent per day and the loan cannot be exceeded beyond 30 days.

Urban Co-operative Banks report nearly 1000 frauds worth Rs. 220 cr

January 28, 2020

As per the Reserve Bank of India, Urban Co-operative Banks have reported nearly 1,000 cases of fraud worth more than Rs. 220 crore in the last five fiscals. A total of 181 fraud cases, involving Rs 7 crore were noticed during 2018-19. A total of 99 cases involving Rs 9 crore were reported in 2017-18, while 27 such cases involving Rs 9.3 crore during 2016-17. 187 cases of fraud, involving Rs 3 crore were reported in 2015-16 and 478 such cases involving fraud of Rs 19.8 crore during 2014-15.

Paytm Payments Bank Ltd implements AI to identify fraudulent transactions

January 28, 2020

Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) has added a new feature of artificial intelligence that analyses “rogue” apps on user devices that may trigger fraudulent transactions and advises users to uninstall such apps. No transactions will be possible until the user uninstalls that fraudulent app.

The bank has a dedicated team of over 200 cybersecurity experts to ensure round-the-clock security of every user transaction. The teams closely work with all State and Central police forces and cyber cells as well as telecom companies to detect, prevent and report fraudulent transactions for immediate action.