From banks to e-wallets to now Payments banks, the finance world is in a stage of new developments. Consumers are spoiled with choices given financial services are more accessible than ever. Amidst all the changes, Payments banks like PayTM, Airtel Money, India Post Payments have sprung, providing us with a plethora of services and options. And most of them have only converted their existing services to a payment account, making it easier for users to switch between the services along with providing facilities like any other banks – such as savings accounts, ATM Cards, etc.

The main gap these payment banks try to fill is for first-time account holders (like low-income houses or migrant labor) who have never had a bank account before. It is also an extension of certain services as previously Airtel Money did not pay interest to customers while now, the Airtel payments bank offers as an interest of 7.25% to customers.

But it is also important to note the difference between payment banks and existing mobile-only banks like digibank or Kotak 811.

I have taken a look at digibank, India’s first “Digital Only Bank”,– where you never need to visit a bank even once to use a fully functional bank account.  You can open a min KYC account just 90 secs followed conversion to the digibank savings account by eKYC verification. You can book an agent for free of cost, who’ll come to your premises for verification purpose. Or you visit your nearby bank branch or nearby Cafe Coffee Day for same. These facilities are available in selected cities only, which includes most metro cities of India.

Here are some of the features and advantages I noticed:

Comparison Pointsdigibank by DBSAirtel Payments BankPayTM Payments Bank
Interest RateDigibank offers a good 7% Interest rate on savings account which is more than what any bank is giving nowadaysThough Airtel Payments Bank is giving 7.25% interest, there are charges on ATM Withdrawals and Funds TransferPayTM offers the least rate of interest @ 4%
Physical Debit CardVISA Debit Card (Paywave enabled)Doesn’t offer physical debit cardRuPay Debit Card
Changes on ATM WithdrawalsFree Unlimited ATM WithdrawalsDoesn’t offer a physical debit card so can’t withdraw cashPayTM offers 3 Free ATM Withdrawals & then charge Rs.20/withdrawal in metros, 5 Free ATM Withdrawals and then charge Rs.5 in non-metros
Transaction LimitThere is no limit to the maximum amount of transactions in a dayMaximum transaction limit: Rs.1,00,000 /dayMaximum transaction limit: Rs.1,00,000 /day
Minimum BalanceAll are zero balance accounts

Additionally, digibank Offers 24 hours available AI based virtual assistant to help you get information for the queries you have.

This application is a great assistance for anyone who is constantly on-the-move and hardly has time to visit banks. One last tip, do try their virtual assistant to get answers real quick!

The digibank app is available on both Google Playstore and iOs Appstore. Using e-wallet of digibank, you can get discounts and cashback on many deals which are updated regularly here.

An optimist to the core, I always see the glass half full. I like to take life as it comes and not to become too serious on the harsher aspects of it. Apart from this, I am an Engineer, a Blogger & a Researcher....

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