Ans. Yes. The PSS Act 2007 does not prohibit foreign entities from operating a payment system in India. The Act does not discriminate/differentiate between foreign entities and domestic entities. (Pl see Sections 4 and 18 of the PSS Act, 2007). Please also see Ans to Q.12.

Such returns which require qualitative or subjective inputs and narrations may be considered for classification as complex returns by the banks and may be taken up for implementation towards the end of the project.

On return from a foreign trip travellers are required to surrender unspent foreign exchange held in the form of currency notes within 90days and travellers’ cheques within 180 days of return. However, they are free to retain foreign exchange upto USD 2,000, in the form of foreign currency notes or TCs for future use or credit to their RFC(Domestic) Account without any limit.

Yes, the banking system too benefits from ECS Credit Scheme such as – Freedom from paper handling and the resultant disadvantages of handling, presenting and monitoring paper instruments presented in clearing. Ease of processing and return for the destination bank branches. Smooth process of reconciliation for the sponsor banks. Cost effective.

Ans: The remitter and the beneficiary can track status of NEFT transaction by contacting NEFT Customer Facilitation Centre (CFC) of their bank, respectively. Details of NEFT CFCs of banks are available on the websites of the respective banks. The details of CFC of member banks are also available on the website of RBI at /en/web/rbi/-/customer-facilitation-centres-neft-updated-as-on-june-16-2023-2070-1.

For the purpose of faster tracking of transaction, you may need to provide few details related to transaction such as Unique Transaction Reference (UTR) number / transaction reference number, date of transaction, sender IFSC, amount, beneficiary name, beneficiary IFSC, etc., to your bank.

Ans. Where the medical expenses in respect of NRI close relative [‘relative’ as defined in Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) are paid by a resident individual, such a payment being in the nature of a resident to resident transaction may be covered under the term “services related thereto” under Regulation 6(2) of Notification No. FEMA 14(R)/2016-RB dated May 2, 2016.

The Banking Ombudsman endeavours to promote, through conciliation or mediation, a settlement of the complaint by agreement between the complainant and the bank named in the complaint.If the terms of settlement (offered by the bank) are acceptable to one in full and final settlement of one's complaint, the Banking Ombudsman will pass an order as per the terms of settlement which becomes binding on the bank and the complainant.

The allotment to the non-competitive segment will be at the weighted average rate that will emerge in the auction on the basis of competitive bidding. (Please see answers to Q14 & Q17 ).

A bank may, at its discretion, renew an overdue deposit or a portion thereof provided the overdue period from the date of maturity till the date of renewal (both days inclusive) does not exceed 14 days and the rate of interest payable on the amount of the deposit so renewed shall be the appropriate rate of interest for the period of renewal as prevailing on the date of maturity. In the case of overdue deposits where the overdue period exceeds 14 days and if the depositor places the entire amount of overdue deposit or a portion thereof as a fresh term deposit, the bank may fix its own interest rates for the overdue period on the amount so placed as a fresh deposit. If an overdue deposit standing in the name of a living depositor under reinvestment plan or an ordinary fixed deposit is renewed by the bank under reinvestment plan at the specific request of the depositor, payment of compounded interest can be allowed.II. NRI Deposits

In respect of direct investment in Nepal or Bhutan, the total financial commitment is permitted up to Indian Rupees 700 crores in any one financial year.

Ans : For the purpose of computing capital adequacy of the IDF-NBFC,

1. bonds covering PPP and post commercial operations date (COD) projects in existence over a year of commercial operation shall be assigned a risk weight of 50 percent.

2. All other assets shall be risk weighted as per the extant regulations as given in para 16 of the Non-Banking Financial (Non-Deposit Accepting or Holding) Companies Prudential Norms (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2007.

Ans. An indicative checklist of documents is given below:

a) Covering Letter for Membership to CPS, including:

1. Part-A: General Information

2. Part-B: Financial and Risk Management Aspects

b) For Current Account:

1. Application Form for Opening Current Account with RBI Regional Office (Annex-I of Master Directions on Access Criteria for Payment Systems)

2. Original Certificate of Incorporation / Registration

3. Original Certificate of Commencement of Business

4. An Up-to-date Copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association / Byelaws Duly Authenticated by the Chairman of the Board

5. True Copy of a Resolution (as per specimen on the reverse) of the Board of Directors Authorising the Opening of the Account Together with Specimen of the Signatures of the Authorised Signatories Duly Attested by the Chairman

6. List of Officials Authorised to Operate Account

c) For INFINET Membership:

1. Application Form for INFINET Membership (Annex-IV of Master Directions on Access Criteria for Payment Systems)

2. Undertaking to be Given by the Applicant on Letter Head of the Entity

3. Copy of Board Resolution to Obtain INFINET Membership

4. Details of Existing IT Infrastructure

d) For RTGS Membership:

1. Application Form for RTGS Membership (Annex-V of Master Directions on Access Criteria for Payment Systems)

2. Certified Copy of the Advice of INFINET Membership

3. Undertaking in the Prescribed Form (Stamp Paper)

4. Power of Attorney, in Original, in the Prescribed Form (Stamp Paper)

5. Certified True Copy of the Resolution of the Board of Directors Authorising to Apply for the Membership of the RTGS System

6. Standing Instructions for Start of the Day Fund Transfer

e) For NEFT Membership:

1. Application Form for NEFT Membership (Annex-VI of Master Directions on Access Criteria for Payment Systems)

2. Certified True Copy of RTGS Membership Certificate

There are two types of GAH users (i) Transactional Users - users who can do order management- place/modify/cancel/hold/release and trade. (ii) View Users- who can only view orders/traded placed by various transactional users under the same GAH.

On the date of maturity, the proceeds will be credited to the bank account as per the details on record.In case there are changes in any details, such as, account number, IFSC code, etc then the investor must intimate Reserve Bank of India , through the Authorised Banks promptly.

No. The deposit insurance scheme is compulsory and no bank can withdraw from it.

A franchiser, i.e. AD Category–I Bank/ AD Category–II / FFMC should undertake the following minimum checks while conducting due diligence of its franchisees:

1. existing business activities of the franchisee/ its position in the area

2. minimum Net Owned Funds of the franchisee

3. Shops & Establishments / other applicable municipal certification in favour of the franchisee

4. verification of physical existence of location of the franchisee, where restricted money changing activities will be conducted

5. conduct certificate of the franchisee from the local police authorities (certified copy of Memorandum and Articles of Association and Certificate of Incorporation in respect of incorporated entities)
   
   Note: Obtaining of Conduct Certificate of the franchisee from the local police authorities is optional for the franchisers. However, the franchisers may take due care to avoid appointing individuals/ entities as franchisees who have cases / proceedings initiated / pending against them by any law enforcing agencies.

6. declaration regarding past criminal case, if any, cases initiated / pending against the franchisee or its directors / partners by any law enforcing agency, if any

7. PAN Card of the franchisee and its directors / partners

8. photographs of the directors / partners and the key persons of franchisee

The above checks should be done on a regular basis, at least once in a year. The franchiser should obtain from the franchisees proper documentary evidence confirming the location of the franchisees in addition to personal visits to the site. The franchiser should also obtain a Chartered Accountant's certificate confirming the maintenance of minimum Net Owned Funds of the franchisee, i.e., Rs.10 lakh on an ongoing basis.

In case the aggregate amount bid is more than the reserved amount through non-competitive bidding, allotment would be made on a pro rata basis.

Example:

Suppose, the amount reserved for allotment in non-competitive basis is 10 crore. The total amount of bids for non-competitive segment is 12 crore. The partial allotment percentage is =10/12=83.33%. That is, each bank or PD or specified stock exchange who has submitted non-competitive bids received from eligible investors will get 83.33% of the total amount submitted by him. It may be noted that the actual allotment may vary slightly at times from the partial allotment ratio due to rounding off with a view to ensuring that the allotted amounts are in multiples of 10,000/-.

Ans. A customer is required to pay only those charges which are explicitly mentioned in the factsheet provided by the lender. Besides this, the customer should also note the following:

• There is no pre-payment penalty on microfinance loans.

• Penalty, if any, for delayed payment can be applied only on the overdue amount and not on the entire loan amount.

• Any change in interest rate or any other charge shall be informed to the borrower in writing well in advance and these changes shall be effective only prospectively.

Ans. No. RTGS is a credit-push system i.e., transactions can be originated by the payer / remitter / sender only to pay / transfer / remit funds to a beneficiary.

Yes. The customer can approach the bank to discount or purchase the cheque. It is the commercial decision to extend this facility to customers based on customer profile. It needs to be appreciated that the charges for purchase / discount will be significantly higher because the bank will be parting with the proceeds before realising the cheques. The charges will vary depending on when the request for discount / purchase is made by the customer and the period for which the bank is out of funds.