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Going cashless, but be careful!

Going cashless, but be careful!

It’s not every day that the government of a country decides to shock the masses with an overnight economic blow. But after the demonetization stint in India, we’ve learned it the hard way that those in power can someday decide to use it too. Whether the ‘impact’ of this dramatic demonetization drill has been a positive one or not is a debate for another day. But one thing is certain, it has made us all squander about aimlessly in search of alternatives for liquid cash.  With most of us now turning to digital and cashless modes of payment, it is imperative for us to bear in mind the few safety tips which we present in the list of top five below:

Handle Passwords correctly

Even though your net banking accounts and e-wallets are password protected, there are ways a hacker can find to expose them. To be safe rather than sorry, we suggest you use a password that is an unusual combination of letters, numbers and symbols. Further, be sure to change your password regularly, with a minimum of once in three months at least. Also, ditch that boredom and use a different username and password for every account.

Use safe web connections and browsers

Those “Free Wi-Fi” boards outside cafes and restaurants tempt us all, don’t they? While you may use these public web connections for basic browsing, its best to steer away from using them for online payments. Also, as a secure digital payment practice, do not use public or third party computers to logon to your net banking accounts. Similarly, use the most up-to-date version of your net browser. Apart from enabling quick browsing, they come inbuilt with the most recent technology to fork out viruses and protect your data.

Install the best Firewalls and Anti-Virus Programs

With all your monetary information on your computer, your best bet is to secure it with the top anti- virus programs available in the market. Further, run virus scans on your PC and use ad-blocking and spyware detection programs. Also, sometime anti- virus program may not update itself, make sure you download and apply updates to it regularly.

Do not share or save your password and card details

While most e-commerce website and e-wallets will ask you to save the card details for “easier” and “quicker” transactions, its best to not save your card number, PIN or passwords online, not even on your own PC. Also, your friends and relatives may certainly stand by you in times of need, but it’s wise to not share your password and ATM pin with them, unless of course there is an emergency you cannot escape.

Use card protection and wallet protection plans

With the bulk of the economy forced to go cashless, you have no choice but to us debit and credit cards. While going cashless is inevitable now, make sure you get a mini insurance for your cards and wallets. For a couple of thousands, these plans protect you from any unauthorized use of your debit and credit cards or online fraud. In case you lose your wallet, your one phone call can block your all cards.

Although the cash crunch is sure to last a few days more, it is not exactly necessary for you to suffer its brunt. There is a plethora of digital payment modes you can opt for, but while you are going cashless, we hope you be careful!

About the Author

Pankaj Mathpal

Pankaj Mathpal, Founder and Managing Director, Optima Money Managers Pvt. Ltd. has over 22 years of work experience in Marketing, Financial Planning & Education. Read More…