We’ve all been there, standing in the checkout queue of a store with the shopping cart packed to the brim. There was a long queue behind you already and it's only growing longer. You can start to hear the disgruntled murmurs as the cashier says out loud enough for all to hear, ‘card declined’. You scrounge around your wallet to muster up some cash. And the world begins to melt around you as the realisation sets in that you simply don’t have enough money or modes of payment on you. And you wonder, ‘How could this happen? Why now when you're in the checkout queue?’.
We apologise if this triggered any traumatic flashbacks. But our point here is that this entire situation could have been easily avoided. A food order here, an auto-debit there and before you know it, one or more of your accounts has insufficient funds. That’s the answer to your question above, contradicting any theory of the universe plotting against you. The solution - a convenient way to track your expenditure and bank balance across accounts in one place. But hold on, does that even exist?
Now, if there ever was a time to talk about ‘Connected Accounts’ on Fi, then this is it.
As the name suggests, it is a feature we’ve built that allows you to connect multiple bank accounts with the Fi app. It's the most convenient way to track all your expenditures and bank balances in one place. It could also be the answer to the question, ‘How do I never end up with insufficient balance ever again?’. If your first thought was, ‘Well, sign me up!’, then you’ve come to the right place.
The first thing you’ll need to do is register with an RBI-licensed Account Aggregator to enable sharing of information between your bank accounts in a safe and secure manner. This ensures that you are in complete control of your data and only you can grant consent for data sharing. We’ve made this a seamless process so you won’t even have to leave the Fi app and you're never in the midst of an awkward encounter at the checkout queue.
We are assuming that you’ve already downloaded the Fi app and opened a Savings Account. And if not, what are you waiting for?
You’ll find the option to 'Connect another bank account' in the ‘My accounts’ section of the app. When you tap on the option to connect another account and hit ‘Proceed’, we register you with one of our RBI-licensed Account Aggregator partners. You will receive an OTP on the same number you used to register on the Fi app to verify and authenticate this registration.
Once that’s done, you will be able to see which of your other accounts linked to the registered mobile number are available for connecting on the Account Aggregator framework. You can choose to connect either one or all of your accounts with Fi.
As you know by now, we are all about transparency and no hidden T&Cs. So, when you select an account to link with Fi, we show you exactly what details you will be sharing, the period for which it will be shared and the purpose for sharing these details. All you have to do is swipe the on-screen slider to complete the process.
And while this process can happen in a matter of seconds, it can take a few minutes till the details from your other accounts get reflected on the Fi app.
Now that you’ve got your accounts connected with Fi, you’re probably wondering how to make the best use of this feature. Firstly, it will give you a clearer picture of your finances. If your spending was split between multiple accounts, you might be under the impression that your spending is within limits based on each individual account. Fi’s Connected Accounts gives you the ability to zoom out and view all these expenditures together. You might finally find out why you were unable to save as much as you’d like.
It's the same when it comes to bank balances. When your total balance is split between accounts, it can make you feel like you're living on the edge when one of them hits a lower limit. But zoom out and you just might find that you can comfortably afford that new pair of shoes in your shopping wishlist.
And it doesn’t end there. With your personal AI-powered financial assistant, Ask.Fi, you can search transactions across accounts to give you an accurate picture of spending trends and patterns. So go ahead and ask Fi how much you spent on food last month, but be prepared for that bigger picture. Fi will also be able to give you actionable insights into your financial behaviour so you can make more informed financial decisions.
There’s no single ‘best’ way to make use of Connected Accounts on Fi. You can use it for anything from staying within budget to simply making sure you never find yourself holding up the checkout queue at the shopping store again.
No one likes standing in long queues, the best option is to look for an express counter and make your way towards it. Another important point to keep in mind is to not be the cause of long queues. With features like Connected Accounts on Fi, you can conveniently track your spends and bank balances across accounts in one place, ensuring that you never hold up the checkout queue with declined cards and insufficient funds.
Whether you're a music buff, just dove into the world of podcasts or are more the 'scroll through your phone' kind of person, there are countless ways to pass time when you're stuck in a long queue. However, you should probably use this time to do something productive, like downloading the Fi app and looking through our features that will help you get better with your money.
