As online banking is gaining more and more importance, Indian banks are switching to e-statements to cut down on their printing and snail mail costs. A convenient option for bankers, this shift also encourages customers to go paperless. Although most people spend a lot of time online, studies state that a majority have not adapted to the shift to e-statements. They still prefer good old paper statements.
Importance of Credit Card statements
Credit Card statements serve a variety of purposes. Firstly, they provide a summary of all your transactions for the month along with any extra fees or interest charged. You can also check for errors and other unauthorised charges easily. They also act as reminders to pay your bill within the due date.
Why paper statements are still preferred
Let us explore why Credit Card paper statements are still popular among customers. Paper statements are permanent, provide better accessibility, and are easy to use. If you’re one of those who stores your documents in different files, you’ll find it easier to look for your past statements whenever the need arises. Besides this, paper statements are more likely to be reviewed by customers as compared to e-statements. Also, with paper statements, you don’t have any login details to remember.
Convenience of e-statements
There are many reasons to justify that e-statements are a better option than paper statements. Not only does it help to save paper, it also helps you save time and clutter. Banks could also cut down on their postage fees if more customers opt for e-statements as compared to paper statements. Moreover, e-statements make it easy to review and pay your bill at the same time, making it an extremely convenient option. The only risk with e-statements is that you may miss seeing the e-mail if you’re inbox is cluttered.
Tips to manage your e-statement
If you’ve opted to receive only e-statements for your Credit Card, follow these simple tips to manage them easily.
Do not forget to check and save your monthly e-statement. Once you receive your statement on e-mail, open it, download it and save it in your personal folder. You can then always access these saved statements without having to go online. Saving your statements also makes it easy to print them in case of any transaction discrepancies.
Check on your credit card account once a week at least. You should make it a habit to check your account, either online or on your issuing bank’s mobile app, on a weekly basis. This will not only help you keep track of your expenditure, but you can also keep an eye open for unauthorised charges or fees.
Organise all your financial records on your hard drive. Managing your finances becomes easy once you start to organise your statements and bills. Organising is easy! Create a folder for all your financial records and save your statements by month. If you have multiple accounts, create folders for each one of them.
Maintain a personal record of your payments. This is a simple money management tip for those of you who have multiple Credit Card accounts. Open a spreadsheet, enter your different accounts in the columns and the months in the rows. Once you pay a month’s bill of an account, enter the same in the respective cell. The benefits are that you will pay your bills on time and you get to track your expenditure across months.
Ensure that your contact information is updated. If you’re changing your e-mail ID, phone number or address, you need to inform your bank about the same. If you don’t do so, then you will miss out on your e-statements and other important documents sent by your bank.
Make sure that your device is secure always. This is the golden rule when you’re dealing with your finances on your mobile or PC. All your financial information is important and confidential, and it shouldn’t be shared with anyone. Make sure that your device and all your financial data is password-protected. You should also make it a habit to change your passwords at least once in a month.
Managing a Credit Card and your statements can be really easy if you do it right!