They say that the change is the only constant. The New Year 2024 will certainly be different from 2023, yet similar in the way that this, too, will usher in a slew of changes with it.
Come New Year, small savings schemes will offer higher interest rates, insurance policy documents will be easier to understand, dormant UPI IDs will be de-activated, cars will get costlier, and the physical verification of documents for SIM card will be phased out, among others, in the finance world.
Some of the key changes we will see from Jan 1:
Higher interest rates on small savings schemes: Interest rate for Sukanya Samridhi Account Scheme (SSAS) has been raised by 20 basis points to 8.20 percent for the March quarter.
Also, interest rate for 3-year time deposit has been raised by 10 basis points to 7.10 percent for the quarter commencing Jan 1, 2024.
Higher prices of cars: Some of the auto companies such as Tata Motors, Audi, Maruti and Mercedes Benz have announced that their vehicle prices will see an uptick in January on account of higher input prices.
There are speculations that the price hike will be around 2-3 percent while there could be a higher price hike for some of the models.
UPI IDs inactive for 1 year to be disabled: If you have a UPI account with any of the popular apps such as Google Pay, Phone Pe or Paytm and have not used it for a year or so, then be ready to see it get deactivated from Jan 1 onwards.
This move will be a follow-up action of the NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) which issued a circular on Nov 7, 2023.
The UPI IDs and associated UPI numbers and phone numbers of customers who have not performed any transaction for one year will be disabled for inward credit transactions in order to prevent the occurrence of frauds.
However, customers will be able to re-register their respective UPI apps for mapper linkage and they can make payments, non-financial transactions using UPI PIN as needed.
Simplified health insurance policy documents: The insurance regulator IRDAI has told insurers to release revised customer information sheets (CIS) for health insurance policyholders with effect from Jan 1, 2024. This is aimed to ensure that the customers understand the key features of policy in a language that is simple to understand.
Since the CIS entails complex legal jargon, the revised sheets will be easy for policyholders to understand.
No physical verification for SIM cards: Another welcome change that consumers will witness is the way they buy SIM cards for mobile connections. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued a notification asking telecommunication companies to phase out physical verification of their customers before selling them the SIM cards.
The Know Your Customer (KYC) verification will therefore be completely digital. The customers will then need to only show their photo identity proof and get the verification done digitally.
The move is being seen as a way to cut down on telcos’ customer acquisition cost and to curb SIM card frauds.
“Considering various amendment/changes made in the existing KYC (Know Your Customer) framework from time to time, it has been decided that the use of paper-based KYC process, as envisaged in instructions, dated 09.08.2012, shall be discontinued with effect from 1.1.2024," DoT said in a notification.
