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Banking
in India has changed considerably in the past decade. Just
about every international bank has a presence now in India. I
remember the time in India when customers who went to cash a
cheque at their local banks, had to first line up to present
the cheque to a bank teller and were then given a token to
take to a different teller to get their cash. Fortunately
things have changed for the better now. Indian banks are now
almost at par with foreign banks when it comes to service. Non
resident Indians living abroad often open accounts with Indian
banks such as The State Bank of India and ICICI bank that have
set up foreign branches abroad to attract NRIs. ICICI bank
vigorously advertises to attract non resident Indians to get
their accounts. The reality is that while some banks will go
all out and outspend each other to get customers they don't
seem to be putting enough thought into customer service. Just
check the internet and Nri's seem to have quite a
fewcomplaints about bank customer service. The competition
from foreign banks within India though has resulted in
improvements for Indians in the banking
sector.
Banks in India now offer services to their customers that are
not only comparable to western banks but also some services
that are not offered in the west, such as home banking. Home
banking facility is one special customer service that banks in
India offer. My Axis bank account for instance allows me to
telephone my bank in India when I want to cash a personal
cheque while I am in India. During my recent visit to India I
used this home banking facility and called the bank on three
different occasions to cash my personal cheque. Once the bank
gets a call for home banking from a customer they send the
cash to your residence, you accept the cash and hand over your
personal cheque to the bank employee. On the three different
occasions that I used this procedure to cash a cheque, a bank
employee was at my door within an average of 20 minutes. Of
course this would depend on the distance you are located from
the branch. Axis bank calls this priority banking. I'm sure
many other banks offer this kind of service. Some Indian banks
now have also opened branches overseas and while the majority
of their overseas customers probably tend to be Non Resident
Indians these banks are doing well as they offer attractive
rates and services to the thousands of NRI’s living abroad.
When it comes to selecting a bank to do business with. NRI's
have lots of choices. Here is some information that may help
you make an informed decision on selecting a bank in
India.
Do remember that when choosing a bank don't let a high
interest rate be the only criteria in choosing a particular
bank. In India, banks running into financial problems is not
uncommon. Last year 28 financial banking institutions ran into
trouble. Check bank acct safety page for a list of failed
institutions.
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