COVID-19 lockdown: How WhatsApp can double up as your banking assistant

Ever since the lockdown began in March, banks have been providing only essential services such as cash deposits and withdrawals, clearing of cheques, remittances and government transactions via branches. But, the likes of Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Saraswat Co-operative Bank and a few others have been offering banking services through WhatsApp. And, there has been a surge in customers using them.

For instance, in a short span of three months, ICICI bank crossed 10 lakh users on its WhatsApp banking platform. Kotak Mahindra Bank managed more than 15 lakh messages per month on the WhatsApp banking channel, with ‘account balance’ and ‘last three transactions’ being the top two requests during the lockdown.

“With the growing prominence of social media in everyday life, we believe that WhatsApp banking has offered immense convenience to customers as it allows them to bank while they are on WhatsApp. Customers could access a host of their banking requirements on their own, without visiting a branch,” says, Bijith Bhaskar, Head-Digital Channels and Partnership, ICICI Bank.

“WhatsApp banking is especially suitable for many of our digitally inactive customers, who have taken to WhatsApp as their first digital banking channel as they are familiar with the interface,” says Deepak Sharma, President & Chief Digital Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank.

What are banking services available on WhatsApp?

You can know your account balance, request for a mini-statement, get pre-approved loans, change credit card limit, block or unblock credit and debit cards, and so on. Messages that you send over WhatsApp to your bank are secure.

Different banks have varied guidelines as to what message you should send, depending on what you want. For instance, if you want to know the outstanding balance on your credit card, then you may be asked to type the phrase “credit card outstanding,” followed by the last four digits of your credit card.

Banks keep adding new features periodically to their WhatsApp banking platforms. For instance, with ICICI Bank’s WhatsApp banking platform, customers can even open an instant savings account digitally, get access to partnered newspapers / magazines, opt for loan moratorium, etc.

Bhaskar says, “In last three months, services such as checking account balance, applying for loan moratorium, last three transactions and revising credit card limit have seen the maximum usage on our WhatsApp banking platform.”

How do I opt for these services?

The process varies from bank to bank. For instance, if you are HDFC Bank customer, you first need to give a missed call or send an SMS to the relevant number provided by the bank on its website from your registered mobile number. By giving a missed call or sending an SMS, you basically provide your consent to the bank for using this service. You will receive a welcome text message from the bank’s WhatsApp number. You should save this WhatsApp number of the bank in your contact list. It’s important to note the number on which you give a miss call or send an SMS would be different from the phone banking number of the bank.

If you are an ICICI Bank customer, you need to save a mobile WhatsApp-verified number that you get on the bank’s website, on your mobile phone in your address book. To initiate a chat through WhatsApp for any banking service, you need to send a message typing ‘Hi’ from your registered mobile number. Further, as per the on-screen instruction, you may type the keyword of the service required. For instance, if you want to know the balance in your account, type <Balance>. The bank balance is immediately displayed in a WhatsApp message.

Do I have to pay any charges for using these services?

There are no charges for WhatsApp banking services. These services are provided by banks to resolve queries from customers in real time. Also, in these pandemic times, this service reduces the load on bank branches and the phone banking division.

Is WhatsApp banking safe?

WhatsApp banking is safe because all messages are secured with end-to-end encryption. Also, your account information is not shared with any person. You do not need to enter any confidential information such as PIN or password while messaging on WhatsApp because it does not offer any transaction facilities. To secure your WhatsApp mobile application you can keep a password or set a fingerprint lock on your mobile phone.

In case your mobile phone gets lost, anti-social elements can get access to your banking data/information on WhatsApp which can lead to identity theft. You should notify your bank immediately if you observe any suspicious activity in your account.

What if I lose my phone?

In case of loss of mobile device, you should immediately deactivate your WhatsApp account by sending an email with a phrase “Lost/Stolen: Please deactivate my account" in the body and subject of the email to support@whatsapp.com. You need to include your phone number in the body. The phone number should be in international format. This way, your WhatsApp account will be deactivated immediately. Remember, however, that such a move will deactivate your entire WhatsApp account and you will lose all your previous messages.