This quarter has been one of the most volatile in recent history. While it all started in April, with the Fed threatening to raise interest rates to contain inflationary pressures in the US, the RBI Monetary Policy Committee pipped them to the post by a day raising the repo rate by 50 basis points.
Monetary Policy Action
IN INDIA & IN THE US
Punters have mostly lost a lot of money (with a few exceptions) due to the wild swinging of the market since the past 3 months. April fooled them, May gave them mayhem and June has been full of “Khoon” (blood). The markets have to be looked at, as an investment.
Move from being a Punter to a Planner!
In this time of volatility, most investors have been looking for safer havens in the debt markets to park hard earned capital. EPF being a well-known debt instrument for the long time, is a safe option for the future. But the EPF does not classify as a liquid investment (you can’t move money out at will).
Here is an explainer on everyone’s favourite - the EPF!
While inflation has been raging, the consumer markets were undergoing a transition with the advent of easy credit through Buy now pay later schemes. While this could have arguably nudged consumerism upwards, the RBI has taken the stance that non-banks can no longer load prepaid instruments, be it digital wallets, or stored-value cards using credit lines. The only valid options for a buyer are to prefill their wallet with cash, or to debit their bank or credit-card accounts.
RBI sets the cat among the BNPL pigeons
Carrying on in the same vein, the RBI also mandated a stricter approach to storage and usage of credit and debit card data. Card details stored on shopping portals were highly subject to data theft, resulting in misuse of cards.
With card tokenisation coming into force on July 1st, this will make it safer for the consumer.
How will tokenisation make your credit and debit cards safer?
