5 Big Financial Changes From Oct 1 You Should Know: Cheque Book Expires, Auto-Debit Ends, Pension & More!

Change is the only constant they say. If these changes are being done by authorities at the top, they affect millions of people. Hence it becomes important to take cognizance of the same and see how exactly these changes are going to affect our life.

These rules, which will affect the daily lives of people, range from changes to the Pension Rule to those for bank checkbooks.

The major five changes are as follows:

1. Pension Rule change:

From October 1, pensioners, who are aged 80 and above, will have the option to submit their digital life certificates at “Jeevan Pramaan Centres” at respective head post offices in the country. The deadline to complete this update is November 30. The Indian Postal Department has been directed to reactivate the IDs of these “Jeevan Pramaan Centres” in case IDs were closed previously.

2. Cheque book Rule change:

From October 1, cheque books and MICR (Magnetic Character Inc Recognition) code of three banks become invalid. These three banks are Oriental Bank of Commerce, United Bank of India, and Allahabad Bank.

Oriental Bank and United Bank, which have been merged with the Punjab National Bank (PNB), notified that old cheque books and pre-existing MICR and IFS (Indian Financial System) codes will be halted if not updated yet.

3. Auto Debit Facility Rule change:

Also from October 1, changes will be made to auto-debit facilities from debit/credit cards. RBI has been mandated to carry out an “additional factor authentication.” Because of this monthly payment for subscriptions to over-the-top (OTT) platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video will need the subscriber’s approval. The notification for the payment will be sent to the subscriber 24 hours ahead of the payment, and take place only after due approval.

4. Investments Rule change:

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has now mandated junior employees working in assets under management, need to invest 10 percent of their gross salary in units of that mutual fund. October 2023 onwards, the requirement will rise to 20 percent of gross salary.

5. Closure of private liquor shops:

In Delhi, till November 16, all private liquor shops are asked to remain closed, as mandated under the new excise policy of the Union territory government. Only government liquor shops are allowed to operate during this period.