Banking: Prashant Joshi

I believe only cheque truncation system (CTS)-compliant cheques will be accepted from July onwards. However, when my father approached his bank last week, the manager said they still don't have the new cheque booklets. What if my cheque gets dishonoured in the meantime?
The non CTS-compliant cheques will be valid till July 31. So your cheque will not get dishonoured in this month. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated all banks to withdraw the non-CTS-2010 standard cheques in circulation before the extended time-line of July 31. You need to approach the bank again and demand CTS-2010 Standard cheques. Also please make sure that you do not issue any post dated non-CTS cheques.

My friend's father passed away last month. He had opened a Rs 5 lakh fixed deposit with a private bank, where his mother (55) is a joint account holder and my friend is the nominee. His father, a senior citizen, got up to 50 bps extra interest on the deposit. The deposit matures in two years. Will the family continue to get the same rate or will they have to stop the deposit?
RBI has left the criteria for payment of interest on deposits in the event of death of the depositor to the discretion of individual banks, subject to their board laying down a transparent policy. Most banks have put in place a well-defined policy covering this aspect or follow the model policy issued by the Indian Banks' Association. Normally, the higher interest rate benefit ceases to exist on the demise of the senior citizen. However, customers can continue the fixed deposit till the end of the original tenure, depending on their respective bank's policy. In this particular case, your friend may continue this deposit. However, before taking decision, I would urge your friend to contact his bank to understand their policy on this requirement.

Are all credit cards insured? Is it an in-built feature or does one have to spend extra? What type of risks does the credit card typically cover?
It's not necessarily true that all cards are covered with insurance, though it is a standard product feature in most cards these days. Normally, no extra payments need to be done by the customer against the standard insurance offering made as part of the product features. This is not to be confused with optional insurance schemes that card companies may offer, partnering with insurance companies, where the premiums are paid from your card if you have specifically signed up for the offering. The ambit of insurance cover can vary from one offering to the other. The most basic cover is for 'Lost card liabilities and frauds', but can also extend to life cover in the case of an accidental death, as with certain higher-end variants.

The views expressed are the expert's own. Send your queries to yourmoney@bsmail.in
Today, MD & head, private & business clients (India), Deutsche Bank, Prashant Joshi answers your questions