ICICI Banks Pockets account is a Smart Phone application to generate a Visa based Virtual Prepaid card account which can be upgraded to a Zero balance account aka Pocket saving account.You have to visit the branch with your address proof and PAN card to avail the Zero balance account.

Federal Banks FedBook Selfie account is a Smart Phone application to open a Zero Balance Account with instant account number creation and with minimum document and processing time, you need to visit the branch with your original Aadhar and PAN card to successfully avail the Zero balance account.

 Free Service provided by Pockets and FedBook Selfie

Currently i am using ICICI banks Pockets account as well as Federal banks FedSelfie account, ICICI Pockets account may seem much useful until you actually know the price of usage, and after comparison with Federal Banks FedSelfie account you may rather choose not to use Pockets. Its to be considered that this is my personal opinion and experience with both the banks, the hospitality provided by both the banks may differ from person to person. 

ICICI Banks Pockets and Federal Banks Fed Selfie both can only be opened using a Smart Phone, the primary purpose of these two accounts are to open a transaction account without physically visiting the branch and without producing any documents, both the accounts can be opened free of charge. Saying of ICICI bank which is one of the best private banks of India which is far ahead in using modern technology in banking than any other bank in India but most of ICICI's bank account needs one to maintain a balance of more than Rs.10000 in urban areas and Rs.5000 in rural areas. Saying of Federal Bank its a old Private Bank with a less number of employees compared to ICICI banks  employees , Federal bank has a few thousand ATMs in India and ICICI bank has quite a huge network of ATMs in India, Federal bank has 1,126 branches and ICICI bank has 3,588 branches in India, Its possible that Federal Bank may not be present in a popular district, but ICICI bank is available in almost all popular districts.
                                                                     

The abstract above may prove that ICICI bank is much bigger than Federal Bank, but most widely used does not necessarily imply as the best, we are here going to compare ICICI banks Pockets and Federal banks FedSelfie accounts. both the accounts can be opened free of charge through a Smart Phone.
                        

                                            My experience with ICICI Pocket account 

I opened a ICICI bank Pocket saving account as soon i saw the advertisement of it on TV,i downloaded the application from the play store and created a profile, so i was provided a Visa based virtual prepaid card which can be used online with a 16 digit card number a expiry date and a 3 digit CVV number , i loaded the card with amount Rs.500 using another debit card. Now to get a physical pockets prepaid card card there is a charge of Rs.100 with service tax of 15% making it Rs.115. I applied for the card it took a week to reach me ( I live in a states capital city), as soon as you get the card and activate it in a ICICI ATM the CVV number in the ICICI Pocket app will no longer be visible as you can see the same CVV in the Physical prepaid card.

                                 

Benefits of ICICI Pockets Physical Prepaid Card 

• Its like any other prepaid Visa/MasterCard based gift card the only difference between ICICI Pockets Physical card and a gift card is, its reloadable .
• As like any other gift card it does not require a PIN number when swiped or used in a POS ( Point of sale ). 
• As like any other gift card it can be used online in Indian websites with currency in INR.
• As its not liked to the Bank account its quite safer when lost.
• ICICI Pockets account gives various discounts and cash back while shopping online.

DeMerits of ICICI Pockets Physical Prepaid Card

• The card comes with a issuance fee , where as any other gift card has zero issuance fee.
• It can only be used at POS and online purchases, you can only use the card at ATM to check the remaining balance.
• It is valid only in India ( Primary Currency INR) 
• As like any other gift card the card image of ICICI Pockets can not be customised. 
• As like any other gift card there is a 2.5% surcharge when used in fuel stations. 
• As like any other gift card there is a 1.80% surcharge when used to book tickets in IRCTC.
• Even after having a issuance fee it does not have a loyalty program to earn points while shopping.

                                                     

                                                    

      

                                     Zero Balance Pocket Saving account is Joke

Soon after using the Physical card for a few days i applied for the Pockets saving account , you can swipe from right side of the Pockets application and apply for the account you will have to give your  KYC ( Know Your Customer ) like information , Name , Address, Email , Phone number , ID card number , PAN etc. Then you have to select one of the branches which is near to your location and you can submit the request, then you have to go to the selected branch and show your Physical Pocket card or the Virtual Prepaid card number in the mobile, ICICI being a advanced bank has given its employees with EDA i.e industrial tablets with ICICI banks employee software to provide service to the clients while being mobile. So they will take pictures of your documents and will also take a picture of you through their tablets camera, They will ask if you have a bank account with them, in my case i said NO,  then i was promised that within 72 hours i will get a call from the bank about the conformation , i waited no call came , after a week i visited the branch again i was assured that they will let me know about the status of my application but they didn't call, again i waited a dew days and  visited the branch they said to make complaint , i called the toll free number and submitted a complaint , i was given a docket number to the track the complains status and was promised that the case will be resolved within  a week , again i wait for a week , no call came , i visited the branch again, again they with their convincing strength assured me they will follow up with me and the account will be created within the week , 3 months passed following up with ICICI bank then one day i was told that i should have to pay Rs.5000 to open the account , i told them this is a Zero balance account why to pay then , they said i have to maintain a balance of Rs.5000 if i am a non ICICI account holder. I requested the situation with the grievance redressal team and i was told that they will get back to me in 24 hours, the same say i got a message that my application to open the ICICI banks Pockets Saving account was Rejected and i was no longer able to reapply as the Rejected status was never removed.

After that i sent a mail to ICICI bank to remove my number from their message senders list and called the toll free number and blocked the card as i felt no use of the card anymore.

Now think why do you need a ICICI bank Prepaid virtual or Physical card under the conditions

• You already have a saving account in another bank. 
• You already have a ATM/Debit card  with another bank. 
• You will be using another debit card to load money into ICICI banks Pocket prepaid card. 
• You will be using a net banking to load money into ICICI banks Pockets prepaid card.

There are many online websites which provide discount codes one can use online to get equivalent discount as ICICI bank pockets card is giving.
Thinking it logically i don't need a virtual prepaid card or a physical prepaid card if i have a debit card or net banking, most of the people applying for a ICICI banks Pockets Prepaid card are using the app only to get a free Zero balance saving account from one of the best private bank in India i.e ICICI bank. 

But i may say you will be wasting your time and resources if you are trying to get a ICICI Banks Pocket Saving Account . 

                        My Experience with Federal Banks FedBook Selfie 

After using ICICI pockets i was in a search of an alternative and similar smart phone based app i downloaded many banks applications and tested each to find a similar or better application , my search ended at Federal banks FedSelfie account , i downloaded the the application and started creating the profile, the application needs to use your smart phones camera to take a profile pic ( Be dressed well as the same picture will be used in the Bank database) the application then will tell you to scan your Aadhar card and your PAN card ( if you don't have a PAN card you can scan any other ID card ,later in the bank you can fill Form 60 for not having a PAN card) after proving the details , instantly you will be provided the account number and then within 15 days you will receive all your  free kit. what does the free kit include.

• Free Personalised Gold International Debit card 
• Free Personalised Cheque Book
• Free Internet Banking Kit
• Free MMID Banking Kit
• Free Pass Book 

                                                   

                                                  

Within 7 days you will receive the ATM card , you have to visit the branch 4 days after you receive the card to get the PIN number, there you will have to sign a form, the card will get activated after 24 hours of visiting the branch, you have to activate the card at an Federal bank ATM, by just swiping > keying the PIN > and checking the balance.

               

                 

               

                               Documentation provided with the Welcome Kit

                                                       


                                                     


                                                


When i applied for Federal banks FedBook Selfie account i thought it will be as bogus a ICICI banks Pockets Zero balance account, i downloaded the application in the Night and created the profile , the next morning i got a call from Federal bank and they asked me at which branch i want to open the account , i was unaware of any branches in my city , i said i don't know which branch would be closer  to me , they asked for my postal code , and gave me a branch address which was 4km from my home location , the same day i visited the branch and applied for the the account, i asked if i need to deposit any amount to open the account , they said its a zero balance account its free for life, i asked them that Federal Bank being a private bank where most of its account needs a balance to be maintained how is the FedSelfie account different from any other account , they said as one is opening the account online without using any resource from the bank the account is made zero balance and one can also upgrade from Zero balance account to a general saving account where the minimum balance requirement is Rs.3000. I had carried my Aadhar card and PAN card , they verified it and asked if i live in the same address as on the Aadhar card i said said No , they then gave me another form to give a reference address and made the Aadhar address as my permanent address. Then they said that i will get a SMS on the creation of the profile the next day, the next i received the conformation , after 3 days i received the Mobile banking kit, within the same week i received the internet banking and ATM kit and visited the branch to get the ATM pin. Now my card is fully activated and i am able to use it any where visa log is shown , even online in foreign websites , in Google play store , In Paypal.

FedSelfie is a completely free Zero balance saving account, which is very easy to create on mobile and very easy to get , you just have to visit the branch one to complete the process, you can even opt out to get the ATM card by un ticking the ATM section in the form during account opening, But still if i look at ICICI banks Pockets account , FedsSelfie account gives more privileges and benefits.

                                         Comparison of Limitations and Annual Fee 

At last it all your choice on what free online wallet or account you want to get 

please comment if you find any information incorrect.