Banking Basics Every Aspirant Should Know: Accounts, UPI, Credit Score and the RBI

Banking is a favourite scoring area in exams, and it is also a basic life skill. The main things to know are simple. A savings account earns you interest, a current account does not. UPI, NEFT, RTGS and IMPS are just different ways to send money. Your CIBIL score (300 to 900) decides how easily you get a loan. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the boss of all banks. And no real bank will ever ask for your OTP or PIN.

Accounts and the money pipes

A savings account is for normal people who want to save and earn a little interest (usually around 2.5% to 4% a year). A current account is for businesses that do many transactions every day, and it pays no interest. That is the core difference exams ask about.

To send money, you have four common ways:

• UPI: instant, free for normal people, works 24x7 on your phone. Best for small daily payments.
• IMPS: instant transfer, works any time, day or night. Good for quick small to mid amounts.
• NEFT: runs 24x7 too, usually free, no upper limit. Good for normal transfers.
• RTGS: for big money only. The minimum is two lakh rupees per transfer, it settles in real time, and since December 2020 it also works 24x7.

Easy memory trick: small and fast use UPI or IMPS, big amount use RTGS.

Credit score and loans

Your CIBIL score is a number from 300 to 900 that shows how well you pay back money. A score of 750 or more is treated as good, and it gets you loans faster and at lower interest. You can check it free once a year from each credit bureau, including on the official CIBIL website. Loans come in types you should know: home loan, car loan, education loan, personal loan, and gold loan. Secured loans (home, car, gold) are backed by something you own, so the interest is lower. Unsecured loans (personal loan) have no backing, so the interest is higher.

This is general information, check the official source before you act.

The RBI and staying scam-safe

The Reserve Bank of India was set up on 1 April 1935 under the RBI Act, 1934. It began in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and the head office moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1937. The RBI controls money supply and sets the repo rate, the rate at which it lends to banks. (Date-sensitive: as of the MPC meeting on 5 June 2026, the repo rate is 5.25%, held steady with a neutral stance. Always check the latest before an exam.)

One golden safety rule: the RBI never calls or messages people directly. Any "update your KYC or account will close" link, call or SMS asking for your OTP, PIN, password or card number is a scam. Never share these, and never click such links.

Got the basics? Take the next Quizzory banking quiz and lock these facts in before your exam.