Tag: Business Management & Startups

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) is a division of Indian Post which is under the ownership of the Department of Post a department under Ministry of Communications of the Government of India. Opened in 2018, the bank had acquired about 4.0 crore customers by December 2020.

On 19 August 2015, the India Post received licence to run a payments bank from the Reserve Bank of India. On 17 August 2016, it was registered as a public limited government company for setting up a payments bank. IPPB is operating with the Department of Posts under Ministry of Communications.

The pilot project of IPPB was inaugurated on 30 January 2017 at Raipur and Ranchi. In August 2018, the Union Cabinet approved a cost of ₹1,435 crore (US$190 million) for setting up the bank. The first phase of the bank with 650 branches and 3,250 post offices as access points was inaugurated on 1 September 2018. Over ten thousand postmen have been roped into the first phase. By September 2020, the bank had acquired about 3.5 crore customers.

Merchants Benefits

• Cost-effective

No charges for downloading, registering and accepting digital payments

• Easy payment management

Use IPPB’s innovative Merchant App, which can be easily downloaded onto your smartphone

• Simple and secure

Accept digital payments from your customers

• Doorstep banking

Get cash management services at your doorstep

• Instant information

Access your account statements and reports at any time

• Track your business

Build a transaction history that enables you to create your positive credit score

• Drive a digital ecosystem

​​​​​​​Avoid hassles of managing loose cash, small change, counterfeit notes or soiled notes

India Post presents Instant Money ​Order (iMO), the instant on-line money transfer service that is instant, convenient, reliable and affordable.​

iMO is an instant web-based money transfer service through Post Offices (iMO Centre) in India between two resident individuals in Indian territory. You can transfer money from INR 1,000/- to INR 50,000/- from designated iMO Post Offices. It is simple to send and receive money.

Money booked through Instant Money Order can be disbursed within 15 minutes of Booking. You can receive the payment in cash. You can also receive the payment through your post office savings bank account in the same Instant Money Order office.

Money Transfer Service Scheme is a quick and easy way of transferring personal remittances from abroad to beneficiaries in India. Only inward personal remittances into India such as remittances towards family maintenance and remittances favoring foreign tourists visiting India are permissible. No outward remittance from India is permissible under MTSS.

As a result of the collaboration of the Department of Posts, Government of India with the Western Union Financial Services, a state-of-the-art International Money transfer Service is now available through the Post Offices in India, which enables instantaneous remittance of money from around 195 countries and territories to India. The recipients can in fact collect the money in minutes after the sender has made the remittance.

The service is targeted to particularly fulfill the needs of NRI dependent families in India, visiting international tourists and foreign students studying in India.

The relationship began in 2001. Since then the two have offered money transfer services to a cross-section of customers and grown to 4200 agent locations throughout India including remote areas like Ladhak and Leh.

“Our successful relationship with India Post is of great significance as it has helped us build closer ties with our customers in India. We further intend to leverage the vast network of India Post to reach out to more people who require fast and secure money transfer service,” says Kapur, Western Union.

Noorjahan, Chief Post Master General, Maharashtra, India Post adds, “Our relationship with Western Union has given us the opportunity to provide our customers with an expanded array of services. Through Western Union, our customers in the remotest parts of the country can now receive money from almost any part of the world in a few minutes.” During the year April 2003 to December 2003, India Post paid out Rs 20 crore as remittances through their tie-up with Western Union.

Apart from communicating with Indians, the objective of the road shows is to generate and sustain visibility and communicate brand values. Both India Post and Western Union also conducted a similar road show in UK and US to talk to the Indian communities there.

To avail of this Service, a remitter goes to any one of the Western Union locations in the countries in which the Service operates , fills up a form to send the amount and pays principal amount and charges. The sender gets a unique Money Transfer Control Number / Reference Number on a receipt after the transaction is sent through the system. Thereafter, the sender calls up his/her payee and gives information on the money sent. The Payee / Receiver goes to the Post Office fills up a form to receive money, shows valid identification and receives money along with the receipt, once the transaction is verified. This entire process is completed within ten minutes.

​​The Payee receives the full amount in Indian Rupees. There is a maximum limit of 2500 USD that can be sent at a time as per applicable RBI regulations which must however be only for personal use.

Amounts up to INR. 50,000/- may be paid to the beneficiary in cash. Any amount exceeding this limit shall be paid by means of account payee Cheque or credited directly to the Savings Account standing in the Post Office in the name of the beneficiary. However, in case of foreign tourists, higher amounts can be payable in cash.

Only 30 transactions can be received by a single beneficiary in a calendar year.

The Post Offices have been directed to treat the payee as “Most Favoured Customers”, which ensures courteous and efficient service to them.

Under the KYC / AML / CFT guidelines issued by the RBI to prevent the system of cross border inward money transfer into India to be used by criminal elements for money laundering or terrorist financing activities, beneficiaries / recipients of the money transfers need to provide sufficient information necessary to establish their identity and proof of residence through reliable Govt issued documents like:

• Election Card
• Driving License
• PAN Card
• Ration Card
• Aadhar Card etc copy of which also has to be provided to the Post Office for receiving a transfer.

Wire transfer, bank transfer, or credit transfer, is a method of electronic funds transfer from one person or entity to another. A wire transfer can be made from one bank account to another bank account, or through a transfer of cash at a cash office.

Different wire transfer systems and operators provide a variety of options relative to the immediacy and finality of settlement and the cost, value, and volume of transactions. Central bank wire transfer systems, such as the Federal Reserve’s Fedwire system in the United States, are more likely to be real-time gross settlement (RTGS) systems, as they provide the quickest availability of funds. This is because they post the gross (complete) entry against electronic accounts of the wire transfer system operator. Other systems, such as the Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS), provide net settlement on a periodic basis. More immediate settlement systems tend to process higher monetary value time-critical transactions, have higher transaction costs, and have a smaller volume of payments. A faster settlement process allows less time for currency fluctuations while money is in transit.

Most international transfers are executed through SWIFT, a co-operative society founded in 1974 by seven international banks, which operate a global network to facilitate the transfer of financial messages. Using these messages, banks can exchange data for the transfer of funds between financial institutions. SWIFT’s headquarters are in La Hulpe, on the outskirts of Brussels, Belgium.

SWIFT also acts as a United Nations–sanctioned international standards body for the creation and maintenance of financial-messaging standards. See SWIFT Standards.

Each financial institution is assigned an ISO 9362 code, also called a Bank Identifier Code (BIC) or SWIFT Code. These codes are generally eight characters long. For example: Deutsche Bank is an international bank with its head office in Frankfurt, Germany, the SWIFT Code for which is DEUTDEFF:

• DEUT identifies Deutsche Bank.
• DE is the country code for Germany.
• FF is the code for Frankfurt.

Using an extended code of 11 digits (if the receiving bank has assigned extended codes to branches or to processing areas) allows the payment to be directed to a specific office. For example: DEUTDEFF500 would direct the payment to an office of Deutsche Bank in Bad Homburg. SWIFT deviates slightly from the standard, though, by using position nine for a Logical Terminal ID, making its extended codes 12 digits long.

European banks making transfers within the European Union and within Switzerland also use the International Bank Account Number, or IBAN.

SWIFT Transaction

SWIFT is a messaging network that financial institutions use to securely transmit information and instructions through a standardized system of codes.

SWIFT assigns each financial organization a unique code that has either eight characters or 11 characters. The code is interchangeably called the bank identifier code (BIC), SWIFT code, SWIFT ID, or ISO 9362 code. To understand how the code is assigned, let’s look at Italian bank UniCredit Banca, headquartered in Milan. It has the 8-character SWIFT code UNCRITMM.

• First four characters: the institute code (UNCR for UniCredit Banca)
• Next two characters: the country code (IT for the country Italy)
• Next two characters: the location/city code (MM for Milan)
• Last three characters: optional, but organizations use it to assign codes to individual branches.

Process

To avail of this Service, a remitter goes to any one of the Western Union locations in the countries in which the Service operates, fills up a form to send the amount and pays principal amount and charges. The sender gets a unique Money Transfer Control Number / Reference Number on a receipt after the transaction is sent through the system. Thereafter, the sender calls up his/her payee and gives information on the money sent. The Payee / Receiver goes to the Post Office fills up a form to receive money, shows valid identification and receives money along with the receipt, once the transaction is verified. This entire process is completed within ten minutes.

​​The Payee receives the full amount in Indian Rupees. There is a maximum limit of 2500 USD that can be sent at a time as per applicable RBI regulations which must however be only for personal use.

Amounts up to INR. 50,000/- may be paid to the beneficiary in cash. Any amount exceeding this limit shall be paid by means of account payee Cheque or credited directly to the Savings Account standing in the Post Office in the name of the beneficiary. However, in case of foreign tourists, higher amounts can be payable in cash.

Only 30 transactions can be received by a single beneficiary in a calendar year.

The Post Offices have been directed to treat the payee as “Most Favoured Customers”, which ensures courteous and efficient service to them.

Under the KYC / AML / CFT guidelines issued by the RBI to prevent the system of cross border inward money transfer into India to be used by criminal elements for money laundering or terrorist financing activities, beneficiaries / recipients of the money transfers need to provide sufficient information necessary to establish their identity and proof of residence through reliable Govt issued documents like:

• Election Card
• Driving License
• PAN Card
• Ration Card
• Aadhar Card etc copy of which also has to be provided to the Post Office for receiving a transfer.

​This International Money Transfer Service is safe, legal, fast & reliable. Also, it is approved by the Reserve Bank of India and is being provided by a Department of the Government of India i.e. the Department of Posts.​​

MoneyGram International, Inc. is an American cross-border P2P payments and money transfer company based in the United States with headquarters in Dallas, Texas. It has an operations center in St. Louis Park, Minnesota and regional and local offices around the world. MoneyGram businesses are divided into two categories: Global Funds Transfers and Financial Paper Products. The company provides its service to individuals and businesses through a network of agents and financial institutions.

In 2014, MoneyGram was the second largest provider of money transfers in the world. The company operates in more than 200 countries and territories with a global network of about 347,000 agent offices.

MoneyGram Systems (1988–1997)

MoneyGram was formed in 1988 as a subsidiary of Integrated Payment Systems Inc. Integrated Payment Systems was a subsidiary of First Data Corporation, which was itself a subsidiary of American Express. In 1992, First Data was spun off from American Express and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. First Data Corporation later merged with First Financial, the owners of rival Western Union. In order to approve the merger, the Federal Trade Commission forced First Data to sell Integrated Payment Systems.

Thomas Cook Global Foreign Exchange, under the stewardship of John Bavister, launched a re-engineered money transfer service in 1994. Branded as MoneyGram, the venture saw the partnering of the global travel giant with First Data Corp.

In 1996, Integrated Payment Systems, the nation’s second largest non-bank consumer money transfer business, became its own publicly traded company and was renamed MoneyGram Payment Systems Inc. In 1997, James F. Calvano, former president of Western Union, became MoneyGram Payment Systems CEO. By the late 1990s, MoneyGram Payment Systems had served customers at over 22,000 locations in 100 countries.

MoneyGram International Ltd. was established in 1997 by MoneyGram Payment Systems Inc. and Thomas Cook, a year after the company had gone public. At the time when MoneyGram International was established, MoneyGram Payment Systems owned 51 percent of the company, while the other 49 percent was owned by the Thomas Cook Group.

MoneyGram International (1998–present)

In April 1998, Viad Corp acquired MoneyGram Payment Systems Inc. for $287 million. MoneyGram was then folded into Viad’s Travelers Express in Minneapolis. In November 2000, the MoneyGram brand and business was sold to Travelex as part of its acquisition of Thomas Cook Financial Services for £400m. In 2003, Travelers Express gained full ownership of the MoneyGram network, including MoneyGram International. Later that year, Viad spun off Travelers Express as an independent company. In January 2004 and Travelers Express was renamed to MoneyGram International Inc. In June 2004, Viad sold MoneyGram and it became a publicly traded, individual entity.

By 2006, MoneyGram International had expanded internationally to include over 96,000 agents in regions such as the Asian-Pacific, Eastern Europe, and Central America. The company had also introduced additional services such as bill payment and online money transfers.

During the financial crisis of 2007–2008, MoneyGram’s shares fell 96 percent from 2007 to 2009. It lost more than $1.6 billion from investments in securities backed by risky mortgages in 2008, and the losses led the company to sell a majority stake to Thomas H. Lee Partners and Goldman Sachs in exchange for a cash infusion. During the drop, U.S. Bancorp shifted its money transfer services to Western Union. The company became profitable again in 2009.

Amid MoneyGram’s turnaround, Pamela Patsley became the executive chairwoman of the company in January 2009 and was later named CEO in September of that year. In November 2010, MoneyGram officially relocated its global headquarters to the city of Dallas, Texas. The company continues to maintain global operations and information technology centers in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In 2013, MoneyGram began considering a sale. In 2014, MoneyGram lost a relationship with Wal-Mart Stores and then began restructuring to cut costs. From their peak in 2013 until late 2015, shares fell about 70%. MoneyGram closed a call center in Lakewood, Colorado resulting in over 500 layoffs. Furthermore, MoneyGram closed its 376-person Brooklyn Center operation in 2015. MoneyGram has moved numerous positions to Warsaw, Poland from its Colorado and Minnesota locations for cut costs further. In 2015, the company’s agent network in Africa reached 25,000 locations, including an agreement with the Mauritius Post Office.

Between late October 2016 and January 2017, MoneyGram’s shares doubled in value. On January 26, 2017, Ant Financial Services Group announced a deal to acquire MoneyGram International for $880 million; the deal subsequently collapsed after it was rejected by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

On June 17th 2019, MoneyGram announced they were partnering with Ripple to utilize the digital asset XRP for cross-border remittance.

In July 2020, Digital Financial Services LLC and MoneyGram have collaborated to provide overseas remittance services in the UAE. Through this partnership, eWallet consumers will enable real-time foreign money transfers to friends and families in more than 200 countries and territories around the world through an vast network of mobile wallet providers, bank account deposit facilities and more than 350,000 walk-in locations.

If you’re sending money online:

• Set up a MoneyGram account, if you don’t already have one.
• Log into your account.
• Enter the country you’re sending to, then the amount you want to send. Remember, MoneyGram will add a fee to the figure you’re charged.
• Give the receiver’s details. The name you give must be their full, legal name, meaning the one that appears on their official ID. They’ll need to prove their identity to pick up the funds, so it’s important to check you get this right.
• Say how the receiver wants to pick up their money to a bank account or mobile wallet, or in cash.
• Choose how you want to pay. You can fund the transfer either from your bank account, or with a credit or debit card. Be aware that if you choose to pay by card, your issuer is likely to charge a fee.
• Give details about yourself. This is needed so that MoneyGram can check your identity. These will include your date of birth and email address.
• Check the information you’ve given is correct, then send.
• If MoneyGram needs further information, you’ll be contacted via the email address you gave, so it needs to be one you check every day.

If you’re sending money in person:

• You can only send money in cash using this method, not with a credit or debit card.
• Find the MoneyGram location that’s most convenient for you. You can use MoneyGram’s location finder to help you.
• Make sure you have your photo ID with you. You’ll need to show this to the agent.
• You’ll need to provide the recipient’s full, legal name as listed on their own ID.
• You’ll also need to know the recipient’s location, plus the amount you want to send.
• Remember that MoneyGram will charge a fee for sending money internationally, so make sure you have enough to cover that, as well as the amount you’re sending.
• Give the agent the correct amount, including the fee.
• You’ll get an eight-digit reference number. Let your recipient know this as soon as possible, as they’ll need it when picking up the money.

If you’re sending to an international bank account:

• Log into your MoneyGram online account. If you don’t have one already, you’ll need to set it up first.
• Provide the full, legal name of the person you’re sending to.
• Select the “Account Deposit” option.
• You’ll now see the total cost including fees, as well as the exchange rate you’re getting.
• You may want to compare the total costs with a specialist money service, such as Wise. The Wise borderless account is an alternative way to send money internationally; it also gives you an account you can use to receive funds in dozens of currencies.
• Choose how you want to pay. This can be with a credit or debit card, or if you prefer you can pay straight from your own account. Paying with a credit card can cost a little extra due to card issuer fees.
• Enter the requested personal information. This is to ensure MoneyGram can verify your identity.
• Provide full details of the recipient. You’ll need to know their bank account number.
• Check the information you’ve given is correct, then send.

If you’re sending to a mobile wallet:

• Check the country you’re sending to offers this service. MoneyGram can only send to wallets with M-Pesa accounts in Tanzania, Kenya, and Romania; or to Econet wallets in Zimbabwe.
• If you don’t meet the requirements in step 1, you’ll need to use a different method to send your money. If you do meet them, read on.
• You’ll need to give the mobile number of the person you’re sending money to, including the international dial code. Check with them first that the number is linked to their wallet, otherwise the transaction won’t work.
• The international dial codes you’ll need to know are: +40 for Romania, +254 for Kenya, +255 for Tanzania, and +263 for Zimbabwe.
• Choose whether to pay with cash, or with a credit or debit card. Remember that credit card transactions may come with a fee added on by your card issuer.
• Provide the information requested about yourself.
• Check everything is correct, then commit to send.

Products

MoneyGram products

MoneyGram Money Transfer

MoneyGram Bill Payments Services allowing consumers to make urgent payments or pay routine bills to certain creditors.

MoneyGram As a service; enables enterprise customers to leverage the company’s core capabilities as productized service offerings to meet their various business needs and add services and scale.

Financial paper

Money Orders: MoneyGram is the second largest money order supplier.

Official Checks: MoneyGram offers official check outsourcing services which are available to financial institutions in the United States. Official Checks are used by consumers where a payee requires a check drawn on a bank and by financial institutions to pay their own obligations.

Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency Cash Network: Through a relationship with Coinme, consumers can purchase or exchange bitcoin for U.S. dollars at select MoneyGram retail locations.

Money transfer generally refers to one of the following cashless modes of payment or payment systems:

• Electronic funds transfer, an umbrella term mostly used for bank card-based payments
• Wire transfer, an international expedited bank-to-bank funds transfer
• Giro, also known as direct deposit
• Money order, transfer by postal cheque, money gram or others
• Postal order, purchased at a post office and is payable at another post office to the named recipient

It can also refer to the following cash-based wire transfer systems:

• al-Barakat, an informal money transfer system originating in the Arab world
• Hawala (also known as hundi), an informal system primarily used to send money to and from the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal
• Remittance, a transfer of money by a foreign worker to his or her home country
• Currency exchange, transfer for of one currency to another

Money Order

A money order is a payment order for a pre-specified amount of money. As it is required that the funds be prepaid for the amount shown on it, it is a more trusted method of payment than a cheque.

The money order system was established by a private firm in Great Britain in 1792 and was expensive and not very successful. Around 1836 it was sold to another private firm which lowered the fees, significantly increasing the popularity and usage of the system. The Post Office noted the success and profitability, and it took over the system in 1838. Fees were further reduced and usage increased further, making the money order system reasonably profitable. The only draw-back was the need to send an advance to the paying post office before payment could be tendered to the recipient of the order. This drawback was likely the primary incentive for establishment of the Postal Order System on 1 January 1881.

In India, a money order is a service provided by the Indian Postal Service. A payer who wants to send money to a payee pays the amount and a small commission at a post office and receives a receipt for the same. The amount is then delivered as cash to the payee after a few days by a postal employee, at the address specified by the payer. A receipt from the payee is collected and delivered back to the payer at his address. This is more reliable and safer than sending cash in the mail.

It is commonly used for transferring funds to a payee who is in a remote, rural area, where banks may not be conveniently accessible or where many people may not use a bank account at all. Money orders are the most economical way of sending money in India for small amounts.

E-Money order

Electronic Money Order is a web based rapid money transfer service offered by India Post between two individuals within India. Money booked through Electronic Money Order can be disbursed within 24 hours. A minimum of 1.00 INR and a maximum of 5000.00 INR can be sent through Electronic Money Order.

MO takes around 3 days for delivery and old Money Order around 7-10 days. Secondly you can no more specify any message along with eMO since there is no place for it. Though there is place for 2 digit message code which is can be chosen by you.

The post office savings account is one of the schemes that the Post Office offers. This post office savings scheme is available throughout India. Furthermore, the post office savings account offers a fixed interest rate on the deposit amount. Hence, the post office saving scheme is suitable for individuals seeking to earn fixed returns from their investments. One can open a savings account in post office with as low as INR 20.

This post office saving scheme is quite popular in the rural parts of India. The Central Government decides the rate of interest for the post office savings account. Often, the rates are similar to the bank savings account. The post office saving account has an interest rate around 4%, and the interest is calculated every month. Also, as per the Income Tax regulations, interest amount less than INR 50,000 per annum is tax-free in the hands of the depositor.

Furthermore, depositors can withdraw the deposits anytime they wish. However, they have to maintain a minimum balance of INR 50 in a generic account and INR 500 if they have a cheque facility. Also, the post office savings account can be easily transferred from one post office to the other.

Recurring Deposit

5 Year Post Office Recurring Deposit (PORD) Account allows investors to save on a monthly basis. The interest is compounded on a quarterly basis. This post office small savings scheme has a total of 60 monthly instalments. Post Office RD is suitable for individuals who wish to save through regular monthly deposits. The post office savings interest rates for this scheme is 5.8% per annum. Investors can estimate their returns from RD investments using RD calculator.

The minimum amount of investment is INR 10, with no cap on the maximum amount. All resident Indian nationals above the age of 18 years can open an account with the post office. Also, minors who are ten years old can open and operate the account jointly with their guardian. Furthermore, parents or guardians can open the account on behalf of their minor children.

One cannot prematurely withdraw their post office RD investments. However, in case of emergencies, one can break the RD. This comes with a penalty of INR 1 for every INR 100 investment. The RD account has a minimum lock-in period of three months. Also, if the premature withdrawal is made before three months, no interest is given. The depositors will only get back their principal amount.

Post Office Time Deposit Account (TD)

Post Office Time Deposit (POTD) Account is one of the most popular post office savings schemes. The interest rates are determined by the Finance Ministry every quarter. The rates are based on the yield of government securities and spread over the government sector yield.

Investments in a post office fixed deposit account have a minimum requirement of INR 1,000. One can open a TD account for any of the following tenures; one year, two years, three years and five years. Also, depositors can opt for reinvestment of the interest. However, this option is not available for one year TD. Additionally, one can also choose to redirect the interest to a five-year recurring deposit scheme.

Time deposits can also be transferred from one post office to the other. Also upon maturity, if the depositor doesn’t withdraw, then the amount will be reinvested for the initial tenure of the deposit at the new applicable interest rates.

Investments in the post office fixed deposits qualify for a tax deduction in Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. Investors can claim tax benefits up to INR 1.5 lakhs per annum. They can claim the tax benefit when they file income tax returns.

Post Office Monthly Income Scheme Account (MIS)

POMIS is a low-risk investment scheme that offers regular monthly income to the depositors in interest payments. The Government of India backs POMIS. The interest rates are announced every quarter. The current rate of interest is 6.60% (for January March 2021 quarter). POMIS has a lock-in period of five years. Upon maturity, the depositor can choose to either withdraw or reinvest the entire amount into the scheme.

The minimum amount for POMIS is INR 1,500, and the maximum limit is INR 4,50,000 per individual. However, for joint holding, the maximum limit is INR 9,00,000. Also, one can transfer their POMIS account from one post office to another. Furthermore, this post office savings scheme allows premature withdrawals post one year of account opening. However, these premature withdrawals have penalties.

Kishan Vikas Patra

A savings certificate scheme, Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) was originally launched in the year 1988 by India Post. This is basically the Indian Government’s initiative to encourage small savings in the country for the investor’s secure future.

Kisan Vikas Patra Information

Benefits:

100% Security: We all want security on the investments that we make. The Kisan Vikas Patra scheme gives us just that. Since it is a Government owned scheme, the returns are fixed and secure. Since the amount that you will receive is declared on the certificate, you will have security on the investment that you have made and the amount that you will receive at the end of the term.

Long term Savings: With the Kisan Vikas Patra, you can start saving early with an amount as low as Rs. 1000. The Kisan Vikas Patra certificates can be bought for amounts as low as Rs. 1000 and going up to as much as you want. There is no upper limit on the amount that you wish to invest. The value is said to be doubled in 100 months i.e. 8 years and 4 months. The value that the holder will receive on the completion of the term is declared on the Kisan Vikas Patra certificate itself.

Fixed Rate of Interest: Kisan vikas patra interest rate fixed on the amount that you are investing. This rate of interest ensures doubling of the principal amount in 100 months and is secured since it is a government bond.

Non-Transferable: The benefits of kisan vikas patra is availed only by the holder of the Kisan Vikas Patra certificate. To have this transferred to another name, the permission of the Postmaster is required along with certain other formalities.

Collateral for Loan: The Kisan Vikas Patra certificate can be used as a collateral while applying for a loan. Most banks and financial institutions accept this certificate as collateral before issuing you any loan.

Tax Benefits: At the time of encashment or disbursal of the Kisan Vikas Patra scheme, tax is not deducted at source; it is TDS exempted and paid in full to the holder. However, it is the responsibility of the certificate holder to pay the taxes on the interest accrued over the term of the scheme. This scheme is completely exempted from Wealth Tax.

Physical Instruments of Investment: The Kisan Vikas Patra saving schemecomes as a simple printed certificate that can be saved in a physical form. There is no demat form for this certificate and cannot be traded for in the secondary market.

Fixed Lock-in Period: The fixed lock in period on this scheme is two and half years. If you have an emergency financial requirement, you can encash this money prematurely after two and half years from the date of issuance with some amount of interest on the same.

Senior Citizens Savings Schemes can be availed by any individual above the age of 60 years. They are effective savings options for the long term and offer attractive features and unmatched security.

Senior Citizens’ Saving Scheme is one of the Post Office savings schemes. You can open an account under SCSS in the Post Office like you can open it in any authorised bank. Like any other Post Office saving schemes, you can visit the nearest Post Office branch or the branch where you hold a savings account to open the SCSS account.

A Senior Citizens’ Saving Scheme (SCSS) account is an account that offers retirement benefits and is backed by the Government of India. Senior citizens residing in India can avail the benefits of the account by investing a lump sum in the scheme, either individually or jointly. The account will provide access to regular income post-retirement along with income tax benefits.

Who are eligible:

• Senior citizens of India aged 60 years or above.
• Citizens who have opted for the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) or Superannuation and in the age bracket of 55-60 years.
• Retired defense personnel above 50 years of age and below 60 years of age
• HUFs and NRIs are not allowed to invest in this scheme.
• The investment has to be done within a month from the date of receiving the retirement benefits.

Reasons:

• SCSS is an Indian government-sponsored investment scheme and hence is considered safe and most reliable.
• SCSS account includes a simple process and can be opened at any authorized bank or any post office in India.
• The account is transferable across India.
• The scheme offers a high interest rate on the deposit.
• Get an income tax deduction of up to Rs.1.5 lakh under Section 80C of the Indian Tax Act, 1961.
• The 5-year tenure of the account can be extended for another 3 years.

The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana scheme is aimed at betterment of girl child in the country. Sukanya Samriddhi scheme has been launched to offer a means of saving to the girl child in every family. Tenure of SSY is 21 years from the date of opening of the account or till the marriage of the girl after she attains the age of 18 years.

Aim:

• To stop gender discrimination of children and abolish the practice of sex determination.
• To ensure the survival and protection of girls.
• To ensure higher participation of girls in education and other areas.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Information

Tax Benefit:

• Investments made in the SSY scheme are eligible for deductions under Section 80C, subject to a maximum cap of Rs 1.5 lakh.
• The interest that accrues against this account which gets compounded annually is also exempt from tax.
• The proceeds received upon maturity/withdrawal are also exempt from income tax.

A traditional insurance plan pays out a lump sum assured in the event of the death of the policyholder. The beneficiaries/dependents/nominees of the life insured receive a benefit (called a death benefit) if the worst should come to pass for the insurance holder. An endowment plan works the same way, but has an additional clause that states that a lump sum payment will be made to the insurance holder if he or she survives till the end of a specified period known as the “Maturity period”, “endowment policy term” or “Survival term”. There are variations to the payout clause in endowment policies some companies have a lump sum payout on the detection of a critical illness, or other life changing events.

Types:

• Full/With Profit Endowment Under this plan, the basic amount i.e. sum assured will be provided to the policy holder. This amount is guaranteed right from the start of the policy. However, the final payout provided is comparatively higher depending on the bonuses announced from time to time by the company. The bonuses once declared form a part of the policy are paid out in the event of death of the policyholder or maturity of the policy.
• Unit Linked Endowment Plan Under Unit Linked policies, the insurance premiums are bifurcated into multiple units held under a specific investment fund which can be chosen by the policyholders.
• Low-Cost Endowment This type of endowment plan was designed with an intention of allowing the policyholder to accumulate the funds which have to be paid after a specified time period, usually mortgage.
• Non-profit Endowment These are endowment plans which do not participate in the profits generated by the company (bonuses). However, in order to make them competitive against other products, companies offer guaranteed additions in these plans which help in generating returns for the policy holder.

Benefits of Endowment Policies:

• An endowment policy will pay out a sizeable lump sum amount at the end of the policy term i.e. once the policy has matured.
• An endowment policy will provide insurance cover during the policy term.
• An endowment policy works to serve a dual purpose. Not only does it work as an insurance policy but also serves as a long-term investment offering decent returns.
• In terms of investing, endowment policies are relatively safer than other types of investments and offer returns which are close to those offered by mutual funds.
• Endowment policies come with tax benefits.
• Endowment policies enable long-term savings.
• With an endowment policy, you can be assured of receiving a considerable amount upon maturity.
• Policy holders have the options of opting for additional riders which provide cover for specific illnesses, critical illnesses, disabilities, etc.
• Most will extend insurance coverage and the promise of benefits even after the maturity date, in some cases up to a time when the life insured attains the age of 100.

On February 1, 1884, Postal Life Insurance (PLI), the oldest insurer in the country was introduced under the Queen Empress of India with the express approval of the Secretary of State (for India) to Her Majesty. The scheme at the time was intended as welfare scheme to benefit Postal service employees. It was later extended to employees of Telegraph department in 1884. In its early initiation days the maximum insurance amount limit was Rs.4,000, currently at Rs. 50 lakhs.

The Postal Life Insurance schemes are some of the most convenient and reasonably low-premium personal investment products in the country.

Postal Life Insurance Scheme offers life insurance cover with high returns on premium. The maximum sum assured offered under this scheme is Rs. 50 lakh. This policy is offered by the Government of India, to employees of Central and State Public Sector Enterprises, Central and State Governments, Government Aided Educational Institutions, Universities, Government aided Educational Institutions, Autonomous Bodies, Local Bodies, Cooperative Societies, Joint Ventures having a minimum of 10% Government/ PSU stake, etc. A group insurance scheme is also managed by Postal Life Insurance, which is for “Gramin Dak Sevaks”, i.e., Extra Departmental Employees, of the Department of Posts.

Features of Postal Life Insurance Policy:

Nomination facility: The policyholder can nominate his/her beneficiary, and can also make changes to the nomination.

Loan facility: Loan facility is available against this policy. The policyholder can pledge his/her policy as a collateral to the Heads of the Region/ Circle on behalf of the President of India, once the policy has attained 3 years maturity in case of an Endownment Assurance policy and 4 years policy period has been completed in the case of a Whole Life Insurance policy. Assignment facility is also available under this scheme.

Policy Revival: A policyholder can revive a lapsed policy. The policy can be revived when policy has lapsed under the following conditions –

• Policy has lapsed after 6 successive non-payments of premium with the policy being in effect for less than 3 years.
• Policy has lapsed after 12 successive non-payments of premium where policy has been in effect for more than 3 years.

Duplicate Policy Document: A duplicate policy document will be issued to the policyholder if he/she has lost the original document. This also applies to the case where the original policy document is mutilated, burned or torn and the insured wants a duplicate of the same.

Conversion of Policy: This policy can be converted from a Whole Life Assurance policy to an Endowment Assurance Policy. An Endowment Assurance Policy can be converted to another Endowment Assurance plan as per the regulations and guidelines laid down by the insurer.

Benefits of Investing in PLI:

Some of the other benefits and discounts offered under the Postal Life Insurance scheme are as follows:

• The insured can avail income tax exemption as provided under Sec. 88 of the Income Tax Act.
• The premium payable for the sum assured and coverage is much lower than that payable under any other.
• Additional facilities offered under this policy are Assignment, Loan, Conversion, Surrender and Paid-Up Value options.
• The policy can be transferred to any Circle within India, at no additional charges.
• Passbook facility is available to track the payment of premium and in case of loan transactions, etc.
• Premium can be paid on an annual, half-yearly and monthly basis. When the payment is due, the policyholder can make a payment on any working day.
• If you make an advance premium payment for a policy period of 6 months, you can avail a discount on premium worth 1% of the value.
• If you make an advance premium payment for a policy period of 12 months, you can avail a discount on premium worth 2% of the value.
• Nomination facility is available.
• Since this scheme has a centralized accounting facility, claims process is quick and easy.

Rural Postal Life Insurance

Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) plays a significant role in the insurance sector of India. RPLI online scheme was introduced in March 1995, especially for the benefit of rural people. RPLI scheme in post offices emphasizes on weaker or women population so that these people can also lead a healthy and wholesome life by opting for various rural postal insurance policies.

Eligibility Criteria and Features

• Minimum and Maximum age at entry: 19 years and 55 years respectively.
• Minimum and maximum sum assured: Rs.10,000 and Rs. 10 lakhs respectively.
• Loan facility: Only after 4 years
• Surrender: Only after 3 years of the completion of the policy
• Premium: Premiums will be varied based on the sum assured and the age of the candidate
• Rural postal life insurance bonus rates: Rs. 65 per Rs. 1000 of the sum assured

Benefits of Rural Postal Life Insurance in India:

Several benefits are associated with rural postal insurance schemes. A host of different schemes are available under the rural insurance umbrella. Some of the most outstanding advantages of these schemes are listed as under.

• Policyholders of rural postal insurance schemes can avail credit by pledging their schemes as collateral for security. The policy has to be pledged with the Heads of the Circle and is eligible for loan only if 3 years or more are completed in case of endowment schemes and 4 in case of whole life assurance.
• Rural postal insurance policies can be pledged with any financial institution for obtaining credit.
• Policies under rural postal insurance can be revived in case it lapses due to non-payment of insurance premium.
• Insurance policies can be converted from one scheme to another under rural postal insurance. So if a customer is not satisfied with features and benefits of one scheme, he/she can get it converted to another as per rules set by postal insurance department.
• Nomination facility is available and nomination can be duly changed as per policyholder’s requirement. This can be done by placing a request with the postal insurance department.