Banking services: WhatsApp banking service: check account balance, mini statement, reward points and more

New Delhi: WhatsApp is mainly used by people as a social media platform where they can chat, share photos, videos, voice notes and more with their friends and relatives. However, you can now use WhatsApp to contact your banks for basic queries. In fact, you can avail of services like checking account balance, requesting checkbook, mini statement, checking debit card eligibility, etc. via WhatsApp. Your requests are processed in real time, which means there is no delay.

Several banks, including Kotak Mahindra Bank, Saraswat Bank, HDFC Bank, AU Small Finance Bank, etc. now offer WhatsApp banking services to help their customers receive updates and access services through the app. In order to avail WhatsApp banking services, you must first make a missed call to the number provided by the bank on their website.

Note that this number will be different from the bank’s bank phone number. To benefit from the WhatsApp banking service, it is mandatory to make a missed call from the mobile number registered with the bank. By giving a missed call, you are essentially giving your consent to the bank for the use of that service.

Once you are done giving a missed call, you will receive a welcome text message from the bank’s WhatsApp number. You need to save this WhatsApp number from the bank in your contact list to continue. In order to initiate a chat via WhatsApp for any banking service, you will need to type “Hi” and send.

When your “Hello” message is sent, you will get a response like “Hello, welcome to XYZ Bank WhatsApp Banking! »Start right away by typing in your query, for example: show me the loyalty points of my credit card or choose the option for the desired service.” In addition, according to the instructions on the screen, you can type “1” or “2” and so on according to your needs

It can be noted that after using WhatsApp banking services, you will receive alert messages, notifications from your bank through WhatsApp instead of receiving them as SMS. You can chat with your bank to get your card details, fixed deposits, mini statement requests, pre-approved loans, etc.

For example, if you want to know your outstanding credit card balance or reward points, you can simply type in a phrase “current credit card” or “credit card reward points” followed by the last four digits of your credit card. Likewise, if you have an FD and want to know the details of your investment, you can send “View my FD Summary”. You will receive a message with details such as principal, interest rate and due date of all your term deposits with the bank. The phrases to use vary from bank to bank. You can easily find these phrases on your bank’s website.

Banks do not charge anything for using WhatsApp banking services. This means that you can avail of this service for free. The WhatsApp service is provided by the bank to resolve customer queries in real time. It should be mentioned that WhatsApp banking services are safe because all messages between you and the bank are secured with end-to-end encryption.

In addition, your account information is not shared with anyone. You don’t need to enter any confidential information like PIN or password when messaging on WhatsApp because it doesn’t offer transaction facilities. However, if your mobile is lost, fraudsters can access your banking data / information on WhatsApp, which can lead to identity theft. If you are in such a situation, you should inform your bank immediately as soon as you notice any suspicious activity on your account.

In case of loss of the mobile device, you should immediately deactivate your WhatsApp account by sending an email with the phrase “Lost / Stolen: Please deactivate my account” in the body and subject line of the email to [email protected] You need to include your phone number in the body. The phone number must be in international format.

For example, if your registered mobile number in India is 9876543210, you should enter your mobile number as +919876543210 in the email. This way your WhatsApp account will be deactivated immediately and a thief will not be able to abuse the WhatsApp banking service to defraud you.

Users should know that you cannot turn off your WhatsApp banking service using online banking, branch visit, bank phone banking. First of all, you need to apply for another SIM card from your mobile operator. Then you need to sign up for WhatsApp from another mobile phone. Once done, automatically the previous WhatsApp account of the lost mobile handset will be deactivated.