Are you one among those facing tightened liquidity in the wake of cash shortage at money vending machines or ATMs. Here are some better alternatives to manage your spends and finances:

1. Debit card or credit card: Ever since the demonetisation and push for digital or cashless economy, already the use of plastic cards has taken on a fast track. Nonetheless, at this point in time where you may be facing cash crisis, depending on the pre-set limits on usage of your credit or debit card, you can put these too to good use. Also, MDR transaction charges levied on merchants have been capped.

2. Use online or mobile banking services to pay-off your monthly bills: An array of services has been extended now from NEFT, RTGS, IMPS which vary in the amount of fund that can be transferred through the facility plus the time in which the payment would be made to the beneficiary.

NEFT facility is not available 24*7 also the transfer is effected in batches unlike RTGS where fund settlement happens on a real-time basis. But there is a minimum amount that can be remitted through RTGS i.e Rs. 2 lakh.

Plus there are service and other tax charges; currently GST @ 18% is charged on banking transactions.

IMPS or immediate payment service on the other hand can transfer a maximum of upto Rs. 2 lakhs with no time bar i.e the service is available 365*24*7

3. USSD or *99#: The facility is more advanced as without the internet, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data provides customers' with access to a host of banking services. For the service, telecom service provider charges a nominal fee of Rs. 0.5 for each of the transaction.

The facilities under its ambit include interbank fund transfer, mini statement and balance enquiry.

However, before you begin using the service, you need to register for USSD mobile banking service and also need to have your bank account linked to your mobile number.

4. Prepaid-instruments and payment wallets: Though KYC requirements are said to mar the business of payment wallets in India. Nonetheless they have come as a big delight to customers in the aftermath of demonetisation. In fact, it is being said that the cash crunch situation will be now cashed-in on by these wallet companies.

It is to be noted that customers who want to transfer funds using these wallets to bank accounts need to pay 2% as fee charges.

5. UPI: Unified Payment interface backed up NPCI is also a good technique to transfer funds. In it both the receiver and sender, need to have a UPI Id. VPA without much of bank details are used to transfer funds.

For the creation of VPA or virtual payment address, bank account has to be linked to bank's mobile app.

Also, it shall be a wise attempt to keep some ready cash for meeting expenses that cannot be paid-off through the digital route.

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