No points for guessing that SMS banking is indeed the fastest and smartest way of handling your daily banking transactions even without a smartphone or internet plan on your phone. All you need is the SMS facility and you can pay your bills, check your account balance, and avail other regular banking services without having to visit the local banking branch. Banks certainly have gone digital. Banking services are right there at your fingertips without you having to worry about bank holidays or having to go through any such hassle!
Well, even before you decide to avail SMS banking facility for your bank account, here is some good-to-know information about it.
SMS Banking: What do you gain?
- Automatic Alerts: When you register for mobile banking, you automatically receive updates and alerts for your bank accounts. This keeps you well informed about all the transactions done through your account and avoids chances of fraudulent transactions.
- Managing bank accounts: With SMS banking, you can manage your day-to-day banking transactions with greater ease and faster pace. For instance, if you need to send funds to a third-party account, request for a cheque book or avail any other banking service, all you need to do is send an SMS to the bank and they will handle the request. You need not visit the bank in person to avail the services – just an SMS would do the trick!
- Pay Utility Bills on the go: With SMS banking, you can simply pay your utility bills, recharge your mobile or your DTH account by simply sending an SMS to your bank account. You need not have internet access on your phone or log in to your net banking account to recharge or pay your utility bills, but can simply do so even while you are on the go!
- Rail ticket booking: SMS banking also lets you simplify the process of railway ticket booking. You no longer need to be bothered about slow payment gateways as a simple SMS would do the trick and your tickets would be booked. All you now need to do is just start packing your bags and not worry about tickets!
SMS Banking: What you should also know
Phone security woes: With your phone replacing the traditional banking channels, you need to be extra careful especially when you have enabled SMS banking on your phone. If your phone gets lost or stolen, you could be susceptible to banking frauds as the suspect can use your phone to send SMS for false transactions.
Bank Charges: As the saying goes, ‘nothing in life comes for free’, and so it is with SMS banking. You cannot avail this facility without having to pay additional charges and you cannot complain to the bank about these additional charges to your account. The decision to avail this privileged service from your bank is really up to you.
Not available with all banks: SMS banking facility being a priority service is not currently available with all banking institutions. You need to cross-check with your bank before deciding to opt for this facility.
Useful Tips for SMS Banking:
- Some banks offer a limit on the number of daily transactions using SMS banking. Even though your bank may not have any such limit, it’s always advisable to double check rather than misuse the facility.
- Railway ticket booking through SMS works as per the timings of the Indian Railway ticket booking system. So railway booking through SMS is not available from 8.00 am to 12.00 noon and from 11.30 pm to 12.30 am. Furthermore, you cannot use SMS banking to book rail tickets under the Tatkaal scheme.
- Even if you de-register from SMS banking, there are chances that you may still continue to receive periodic updates like OTP, beneficiary addition, etc. through internet banking services. Using any of those updates could be charged to your banking account.
With smartphones becoming the most indispensable product in our daily lives, it’s really hard to shy away from using the super-efficient SMS banking facility. This know-it-all guide about SMS banking should help you make the correct choice and enjoy smart banking at your fingertips!