I have always kept on telling a true RICH person is the person who has ‘liquid’ wealth. That means having cash accessible to you anytime anywhere. This recent subprime credit crisis has demonstrated this and even the biggest banks in the world are in turmoil just because of liquidity.

If you have your wealth in stocks, bonds, shares, real estates … and you are claiming to be rich just be careful next time! These variables can get diluted and its money value could go down anytime.

Thats why liquid wealth can match nothing!

The TRUE Rich Person is the one who has LIQUID wealth.

Many businesses whose main area of activity in finance (like insurance, annuities) are taking a plunge and most fear that if this crisis deepens it would lead to unemployment and people losing their savings kept in banks. I never expected that the collapse of Lehmen Brothers would trigger such a financial turmoil worldwide.

It is such a sad situation! At this point of time trust in banks is at all time low.

I wonder how many people have noticed this. I would appreciate if anybody give a feedback if you come across this.

Here is the main difference.

RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement)

It means the funds will be credited immediately to the payee account in real time. No delays. The minimum amount to send is Rs 1 lac. Not all banks are RTGS enabled. You should inquire with your bank.

NEFT Transfer

EFT or NEFT (National Electronic Funds transfer) is basically bit delayed transfer takes 1 or 2 days to complete. There is no minimum or maximum limit to do the funds transfer. The settlement takes place 6 times a day and 3 times on saturdays.

Source: Reserve Bank Website

2Checkout.com has been informed by our bank that with the banking regulation in India that a wire can only be issued for payments that are over 100,000.00 INR and must include the IFSC (Indian Financial System Code) code for your bank, along with your bank’s full address and branch name – please contact your bank for the correct IFSC code.

That means if you are small time merchant you cannot have your payment done through wire transfer until your release level reaches $2500.

Of course! you can chose to receive check as withdrawing option.

Clarification:

There has been a clarification issued by 2CO (through chat) that this condition applies only if i select to receive my payment in INR (Indian Rupees). If i select USD or any other foreign currency and if my indian bank can accept it, then the minimum withdrawal is $300. This is also posted in one of the 2co forum

I am not sure how many indian merchants have successfully transferred their money to indian bank account from 2CO. if anybody done it, please post here your experiences.

If you have opened an account with HDFC bank but you dont know the IFSC code of your bank. IFSC code is a 11 digit code used to interbank electronic clearing in India.

It will be in the format of HDFC0000XXX for your HDFC account.

If you are opening account in paypal or to receive payments through online banking from somebody, you will need it and let the sender know your account number and the IFSC code.

Here are the 4 ways to find out your HDFC bank IFSC code….

1. Open our checkbook and if you notice in the cheque leaves you will find on the bottom left something like IFSC code /RTGS with HDFC000XXXX

2. RBI has published a huge list of IFSC codes of almost all banks in India, including HDFC bank branches and you can download here (excel format). Refer to it and see whether the IFSC code of your bank is listed. Visit the RBI website for more information

3. Visit the HDFC bank website and search for IFSC codes branchwise or call the customer service of the HDFC bank and ask them what is the IFSC code of your bank where you opened the account.

Another short trick

4. If you have HDFC account starting in XXX then most probabably the IFSC code will be ending with those XXX. For example if your account number starts with 7644 then in most cases the IFSC code would be like HDFC0007644. Having said that you should not rely on this trick as this may be inaccurate sometimes, if the bank decides to change the IFSC code and you wouldnt know.

Follow the steps (1) and (3) to determine the IFSC code of your HDFC bank.

Disclaimer: The information i posted above is just for educational purpose only and may be inaccurate. Always consult your bank officer and confirm with your bank regarding the IFSC code. If you quote wrong code, your incoming payment will be rejected or sometimes reversed.

Before Travelling to India

1. Always take a VISA or Mastercard with you. VISA or Mastercard is accepted in most parts of the world including India. Though AMEX cards are popular, it is still not accepted everywhere in India, except in high profile places.

2. Before you depart from your home country, call your bank and inform them you are travelling abroad and ask them to permit ATM cash withdrawals abroad (India) AND allow online transactions (to book tickets) in your card while in travel.

Foreign Credit/Debit Cards

Using credit card has become one of the most common way of doing electronic money transactions, no matter where you are in the World. Be it for shopping or ATM withdrawals

You will find that if you are from europe or other countries, most VISA/Mastercards are issued with a smart chip in the credit card. Be aware if you are a foreigner using those cards in India can cause inconvenience as most shops use a swipe machine that are still not equipped to handle credit card using with those chips. This is because indian banks only rely on magnetic strips in the credit/debit cards and the technology is yet to come with smart chips. This is a nasty situation and can be sometimes embarrassing. So before you buy anything, make sure you ask the owner of the shop in India, whether they can accept international credit cards like VISA/Master card with those smart chips. If their swipe machine doesnt have a chip processor, you credit card will be declined. As a foreigner this can be ridiculous!

If their swipe machine has chip processor in their swipe machine, ask the owner of the shop to insert the credit card to the chip reader in the swipe machine, pull out and then swipe the magnetic strip of the card once and then enter the billing amount. This way most foreign issued credit cards work in the swipe machines used in India.

If you carry AMEX (American Express) card still many small and medium sized shops in India still cant accept amex cards. As a foreigner it is a good idea to take a VISA/Mastercard issued cards. Ask your bank to issue one of them.

On the other hand, if you are Indian travelling to europe or elsewhere, most hotels and shops decline those credit cards without those smart chips. So make sure you do your research beforehand than getting embarrased.

ATM Withdrawals

With your international credit or debit card (with or without smart chips), you can easily do a cash withdrawal at over any ATM with Visa or Mastercard or AMEX logo. Most often the card PIN is about 6 digits long and most bank ATMs very well accept PINs of 6 digits. The following bank ATMs are very much recommended to do a cash withdrawals for foreigners….Look for the logo for VISA, Mastercard and AMEX!

HDFC Bank
HSBC Bank
ICICI Bank
IDBI Bank
Citibank India

You should be able to find ATMs of these banks almost in every corner of the city. It is a good idea to use online ATM locator using these links

http://visa.via.infonow.net/locator/global/
http://www.mastercard.com/us/personal/en/cardholderservices/atmlocations/index.html

Most proabably if you are from EU country, you will have a Maestro, PLUS or Cirrus logo if its a debit card. You will have a proper VISA or Mastercard logo if its a credit card.

The maximum withdrawal limit for most ATMs in India is about Rs.15′000. In most cases if you carry a foreign issued debit card you will be charged for USD 5.- for withdrawals abroad by your Bank. Using credit cards for cash withdrawals can be still expensive and the minimum is most proabably 3% + $5. Call your bank and check for these exact charges.

Online Safety Tips

If you are a foreigner, travelling abroad and using paypal for online payments, dont login into paypal account from other country. Paypal might suspect that your account is misused and might limit your account. So before you depart call paypal and inform them that you will be travelling abroad and you might be logging in from other country.

If you are foreigner doing online purchasing for air/train tickets, most indian online sites ask for scanned copy of credit card and credit card statement. While doing so never in any case reveal CCV number of your credit card under any circumstances to anyone.

Avoiding Limitation & Safety Tips

What NOT to do?

* Do not open multiple paypal accounts. You are allowed to have 1 personal AND 1 business OR 1 premier account.

* Dont buy/accept payments related to gambling/casinos or other activities/serviices considered high risk by paypal. Read their terms here .

* Avoid sending money or accept payments to people from countries which are considered high risk (like nigeria, african countries).

* Dont login to your PP while you travel to other countries. Before you do that call them and inform them that you are travelling.

* If you are sending/receiving money above $500 use bank transfer rather than using PP payment. If you are in europe use IBAN payments or moneybookers. No matter what always bank transfers are the safest, even if it costs more.

* If you are sending more than $1000 to somebody using PP, phone PP and inform them before you initiate the transaction. Also, make sure you have enough proof to show incase you get dispute or chargeback later.

* Dont give a chargeback with your credit card connected to your PP account. This will hurt your reputation with PP. Instead file a dispute by logging in to your PP account.

* Make sure you dont receive credit card chargebacks or frequent disputes from your buyers. What it indirectly means is your business is not reputable one and PP may decide to close your account.

* Dont conduct large no of transactions or send large sums of money in a single day or same week. This will raise suspicions as PP will think that someone has illegally logged in your account and misuing and diverting the funds.

* DONT set your PP account with weak password. Set your password atleast 10 chars involving numbers and special chars. Weaker passwords will be compromised by hackers.

* Dont allow your PP account to go into negative balance. To be on the safer side always keep $100 to $200 in your account incase you get any dispute or chargebacks.

* Dont signup the credit card which PP has already in file. PP does not allow to signup same card number more than once.

* If you are in trouble always call them by phone and explain the situation and tell them the truth.

* Dont frequently transfer money between PP accounts on your name. This can be exchanging funds between personal and (business or premier one)

* If your account is permanently locked then you have to patiently wait for 180 days to receive your money and after that your account will be closed. In some cases on extreme fraud you funds may be held by PP and may not be returned.

* If you conduct very large number of transactions (excess of $5k monthly), it would be a good idea to upgrade your account to a business one or apply for separate merchant account to be on the safer side. As otherwise your business will be at risk.

More important tips can be found here

MOST IMPORTANTLY!

Dont trust any email sent to your inbox. NEVER NEVER! CLICK URL LINKS IN THE EMAIL EVEN IF THE EMAIL SENT FROM PP IS GENUINE. THE SENT EMAIL MAY BE PHISHING EMAIL. You will compromise your account to phishers. Instead open your browser, type WWW.PAYPAL.COM and then securely enter your login details.

What You Should Always Have

Paypal might any time ask you to verify your account and may ask you to send the identification documents by fax even if you are verified member. To be on the safer side, you have to always keep the following documents ready at any cost.

1. Passport copy / Govt ID (Primary Identification)
2. Drivers License (Secondary Identification)
3. Bank Statement
4. Utility Bill (Rental bill on telephone or gas or water)
5. Recent Credit Card Statement (for CC you signed up with PP).

Incase of any dispute or chargeback…

1. Any proof of documents which you shipped (in case you sell physical items)
2. Any Proof of Agreements/Contracts (which is entered between buyer and seller).

Remember! You can’t live without paypal. Your PP account is most important for your business and it is so necessary even if means more than your bank account. So be careful and act wisely with your PP account.

I suffered with PP previously and had nightmares. It really hurts! So i felt that i could sit and post these tips which i believe will be most helpful when you have a situation with PP.