If you’re working in a company, then you must have a salary account where you get your salary deposited every single month, right? But do you even know like how this salary account thing even works? Well, the thing is, most of the time, big companies have tie-ups with big banks and they create these special bank accounts for their employees so that every month they can directly deposit the salary in these bank accounts and keep the records clean not just for the company but it is much easier for the employees to keep track of their salary too. But it isn’t always good, just like anything else, and that’s why we suggest you come with us and just have a look at the salary account advantages and disadvantages that we have listed down for you. So, here we go.
Advantages of Salary Accounts
1. No Worries About Keeping Extra Money in There
The first and probably the biggest reason why salary accounts are so common and preferred by so many businesses or companies out there is the reason that they don’t require you to keep a minimum balance maintained in there all the time. Like, no matter if you want to keep just a few thousand or lakhs of rupees (or dollars in your case) because you won’t be charged any fee for the maintenance. Simple as that!
2. Free Goodies Like Cheque Books and Cards
Oh, and it’s not like you just get to keep the bank account itself, there will be some extra benefits or free goodies as well that aren’t that common with normal savings or checking bank accounts. What are those specifically? Oh, that would be things like free cheque books, debit cards, and even access to e-statements whenever you want.
3. Banking on Your Phone or Computer
And it is not like you’d have to visit the bank branch or call your bank people to know about the available balance in your salary account, or even transfer that money however you want. Nah, you’d be able to do that with your phone, a computer, or even on a call. So, that’s pretty much like a regular savings or checking account.
4. Loans That Are Easier to Grab
See, when it comes to a regular bank account, you only can apply for a loan and get the money when you’re eligible. Well, that’s how it works most of the time. Though, with salary accounts, borrowing money is less of a headache in our opinion. How? Since the bank already knows that you’re a salaried employee, that simply means you have the capacity to return the loan and will not default on it. So they just straight-up approve your application most of the time.
5. Fancy Credit Cards Just for You
It is not just about the loans though, most of the time, it has been seen that banks are more readily giving out credit cards to those who have salary accounts. And the reason is pretty much similar to what we talked about in the loan section. Just keep in mind one thing that the spending limit will most likely depend upon how much your salary is or how big your salary account is.
6. Pay Your Bills Without Thinking Too Hard
See, just like a regular bank account, you can even link your bills to your salary account and just forget it. Like, you don’t need to worry about the important bills anymore, you just set them up, link them with your salary account, and they’ll be paid every single month.
7. Grow Your Money with Fun Options
Usually, it is the case that when you create a demat account, you have to pay the maintenance charges, but when it comes to a salary account, most of the time, you don’t need to pay those charges. Why? Well, that’s just because your employer is tied up with the bank, and this is the benefit they get from making a bunch of salary accounts.
Disadvantages of Salary Accounts
1. Stuck With Your Boss’s Bank Pick
With a salary account, the thing is, you don’t get to choose the bank where your account will be opened. Like, if you don’t like a particular bank and its service, you have no choice but to go with your boss’s pick when it comes to salary accounts.
2. Perks Go Poof If You Stop Getting Paid
Salary bank accounts are only good when you’re getting paid, and once the salary is missing, the perks go missing too. And that could be the case when you lose your job, you quit yourself, or maybe you’re on a break for a few months or so.
3. Not Much Room to Play Around
There still are so many limitations to the salary accounts when it comes to how many other bank accounts you can open, how many big transactions you can do, and things like that. The bank and your employer working together can put these limitations, so don’t expect to do things like you’d usually do with your regular bank account.
4. Not Much Money Growth
With salary bank accounts, you expect that they’ll pay you more interest than regular bank accounts, right? But nah! Most of the time, when you check out the interest rates of these salary accounts, you get the average rate, like around 3% to 6%, and that’s pretty much it. And this mostly depends upon which bank your salary account is in, like if they have fixed a low interest rate on the amount you have in your salary account, there is not much you can do about it.
5. You Can’t Just Walk In and Get One
It should be a pretty obvious one that only the salaried employees get salary accounts and not just any regular person. Like, you can’t just walk into a bank and get it yourself. That’s not how it works. Or it could very well be that your employers directly deposit your salary in your regular bank account and they aren’t tied up with any bank for such types of accounts.
Conclusion
That’s all. These are by far the most common advantages/benefits and disadvantages or more so the challenges associated with salary accounts in general. So now you get it like why so many companies go with these special accounts, and why some just straight up avoid using them.