Social Banking is here!

I remember the first time I heard the word bank. I was a kid, about five years old and mom had decided to take me to our branch to withdraw some money. I loved the place! For one, it was one of the few places I had been to that had an air conditioner. Second, it would give any amount of money to you. I saw my mom scribble something on a piece of paper and give it to a stern-looking woman who gave her a token. When the number was announced, mom would scribble some more and walk away with whatever amount she wanted. I was amazed.

The next day, I, very proudly, scrawled some random alphabet I remembered from school and gave it to mom asking her to give me 5 rs to buy chocolate and samosa. My mom took the piece of paper and asked, “What have you written here”

“This is my sign,” I said proudly. “Now, you can give me money”

My mom looked a little puzzled and I continued, “Mom, I saw you in the bank yesterday. You gave people a piece of paper and they gave you money in return. I want five rup…”

By this time, mom had started laughing. She took me in my lap and said, “Paisa thodi pedh par ugta hain. Banks just don’t give you money when you ask for it. You have to save first and deposit money into an account. Only then can you withdraw it when you need it.”

She ruffled my hair and decided to give two rupees for chocolate.

Next day, when she returned from the market, she brought a present from me. I squealed in delight and hurriedly tore its wrapper to see what was inside. It was a beautiful pink dog house. Delighted, I asked her how it worked.

She gave fifty paise and told me, “You see that little knob over there? Just keep your coin on top of it and press.”

I did what she asked me to and immediately the dog sprang to life. It jumped out of the house, took the fifty paise and shut its door on me. I was so amused by this game that I spent the entire day removing and putting fifty paise back into my doggy bank.

These are the first few memories that I remember about banking. There was school of course, where I was made to learn the functions of a bank by rote but I never gave it much thought. It was only when I got my first salary that I opened a bank account and started taking an interest in banking. It was a complex and tedious thing to learn, but I had no option.

Let’s fast forward it to today. Nowadays, everything is fast-paced, isn’t it. Everything is social. That is why; Kotak thought, “Why not make banking social, too” And thus Jifi was born!

Now, I am sure you guys are intrigued as to what Jifi really is. Here is some information about it along with my review.

First of all, I am in love with the concept. Connecting banking with social media is just a stroke of genius, especially for impatient youngsters like me. I need everything on the go and I cannot be bothered with complicated processes to get things done. This where Jifi comes in and saves quite a lot of time for me. I don’t have to stand in long queues to submit the form for a fixed deposit nor do I have to keep worrying about keeping a passbook updated.

Let’s have a look at how it works!

Signing up

Signing up on Jifi is very easy. All you need is a Facebook account or an email id to invite yourself to this site. The service is currently invite only but it will soon be open to all.

It took me less than a minute to sign up using my Facebook account and within a few moments I got an email on my Facebook registered id to confirm my account.

How to earn points?

The first thing that I did, once I logged into my account was read the FAQ’s on how to earn points. I realized that there are two types of points that one can earn. Transaction points, awarded when you use Jifi to make a payment somewhere and social points that are awarded when you invite friends, like Jifi’s Facebook page and so on.

So what is the difference between the two?

When you earn social points, you can use it to buy coupons for yourself. However, when you earn transaction points, you can use it to get gift vouchers for a number of amazing companies.

Also, you must read the Terms and Conditions of the vouchers purchased from social points. In order to use, you will have to make a payment from Jifi. Initially, I disliked this concept but then I realized that Jifi had done something clever. If you made a payment using Jifi, you would definitely earn transaction points and in the end, you will definitely benefit.

So, a big thumbs to earning points via Jifi!

What other benefits can you expect?

This colourful picture says it all, doesn’t it?

Balance free banking

All banks require you to maintain a certain amount of money with them. This usually ranges from Rs. 1000 to Rs. 10, 000. It is really a waste isn’t ? This deposit earns a terrible interest rate while the bank uses it to give loans and earn a handsome profit for itself. But Jifi does not like to cheat its customers like that.

When you start an account initially, you are required to deposit Rs. 5000 for some verification. But once that is done, you are free to empty your account entirely and enjoy the benefits of social banking whenever you feel like. Jifi does not want to coerce its customers into doing something they rather not.

Also, if you have kept more than Rs. 25, 000 in your account, then you are in for a treat. Jifi automatically creates a term deposit that ensures that you earn a good interest on your money that is otherwise just lying around in the bank.

What are people saying about Jifi?

How Jifi makes me happy?

Enjoying every moment and doing the things that you love is so easy. Using the points, I can give coupons and gift vouchers, I can make payments any time I want and save time, I can earn a good rate of interest if I have a higher deposit and basically, I can do whatever comes to my mind without bothering about banking hassles!