Post Office Premium Services
Below are the premium Services offered by Indian post office to its customers which includes:
Speed Post:
India post offers a special service called Speed Post which offers secured and time bound delivery of letters, gifts and parcel. This service was started by the India Post in 1986. It is comparatively faster and secure delivery service provided by the post offices. It normally takes 2 to 3 days to deliver such posts within India. Its charges are cheaper as compared to registered post. The name and signature of the person receiving the article is recorded on the delivery slip. It also give you tracking facility through which you can track your dak's current status. Click on Track Speed Post to track your speed post status online.
Media Post:
Through this, any corporate/ company can print its logos on post cards, inland letters, aerograms and postal stationery so that they can get better advertising exposure. In this way, the corporate or companies can get maximum benefits at very low cost and in an effective way. Media Post is an innovative advertising concept offered by India Post to help Indian corporate entities and government organizations reach potential customers. Benefits of Media Post are,
Range of Advertising Mediums: It offers a variety of advertising mediums such as Postal Stationery and Postal Premises. These platforms allow businesses to engage with a wide audience.
Cost-Effective and Personalized: India Post's Media Post is both creative and cost-effective. It offers personalized advertising solutions designed to specific needs.
Unmatched Reach: No other medium can match India Post in terms of volume and reach. Media Post helps your message reach diverse corners of the country with its extensive postal network.
Logistics Post:
This offers the transportation of goods i.e. we can send ordinary parcels and other items using this facility. The logistic charges depend upon size, weight and the distance.
Express Parcel:
Express Parcel is a premium air express and time bound parcel service. Individual can send parcel upto 20 Kilograms under this facility while Contractual can send parcel upto 35 Kilograms under this facility. Value payable facility, upto Rs. 5,000 is available on Express Parcel for retail customers. Online track and trace service to track your consignments from booking to delivery.
Other Services
Postal Life Insurance:
Post offices in India offer life insurance. Presently it is limited to the employees of the Central and state governments, public sector undertakings (PSU) and semi-government organisations. However, in October 2010, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) allowed the post office to sell insurance policies of private companies. In this way, India Post has an opportunity to earn good commission from selling insurance policies of other insurers. India Post is, however, not keen to sell the policies of other insurers as it wants to focus on its own Postal Life Insurance.
The premium rates of the Postal Life Insurance are much lower than that of other insurers but the main drawback is its limited eligibility.
Mutual Fund:
Post offices offer sale of mutual funds from their offices. A few selected mutual funds schemes are available for investment through post office. SBI MF, UTI, Reliance MF, Franklin Templeton MF and Principal MF are some of such mutual funds. This service is offered by the India Post in association with IDBI bank which is a Public Sector Bank. An investor can submit application forms, payment cheques and KYC documents at these branches. India Post is, however, not keen to sell the mutual funds due to removal of entry load. Currently, only a few schemes of UTI Mutual Fund are distributed through the designated post offices in India through NISM/ EUIN certified staff.
ATM:
A few post offices offer ATM services. One can withdraw cash or can do money transfer transactions through ATMs. Separate ATM card is issued to the customers for carrying out ATM transactions.
Payments Bank:
As per the RBI's guidelines, a payments bank is a recent concept and it is a bank that can only take deposits (presently, only upto Rs.1,00,000 per customer) but cannot grant loans or issue credit cards. India Post Payments Bank is the second payments bank of India to start its functioning on January 30, 2017 when it had set up 2 branches at Raipur and Ranchi on a pilot basis. The only state-owned payment bank India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) offers people 3 types of Savings Accounts to deposit their savings in a safe instrument which also offers an attractive interest. These 3 different types of savings accounts are:
- Basic Savings Account
- Regular Savings Account
- Digital Savings Account
Forex Services:
Post offices offer prepaid forex cards in 7 currencies, demand drafts in 11 currencies and wire transfer in 13 currencies. They also issue traveller's cheques and 22 foreign currencies to foreign travellers.
Sale of Gold Coins:
One can buy 24-carat gold coins at the post office. The coins are available in three sizes: 500 mg, 1.5 g and 8 g. These coins have been imported from Switzerland and have the backing of the World Gold Council
Jansuraksha Yojana:
Under this, one can buy Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojna(PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna(PMSBY) and Atal Pension Yojna (APY) from post offices.
Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojna(PMJJBY) is a one year cover Term Life Insurance Scheme which is renewable from year to year and offers life insurance cover for death due to any reason.
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna(PMSBY) is a one year cover Personal Accident Insurance Scheme which is renewable from year to year and offers protection against death or disability due to accident. All savings bank account holders in the age 18 to 70 years in participating banks can join. Premium payable is only Rs.12 per annum per member
Atal Pension Yojana (APY), a pension scheme for Indian citizens which is focused on providing pension to the unorganised sector workers. Under the APY, guaranteed minimum pension of Rs.1,000 or 2,000 or 3,000 or 4,000 or 5,000 per month will be given at the age of 60 years depending on the contributions made by the subscribers. The contributions in the Atal Pension Yojana account can be made at monthly, quarterly or half yearly intervals through autodebit facility from savings bank account/ post office savings bank account of the subscriber.
National Pension Scheme (NPS)
National Pension Scheme (NPS) is a government sponsored pension scheme. It was launched in January 01, 2004. It is more beneficial for those employees who do not have any pension scheme by their employers. The main objective of NPS is to create enough corpus to enable subscriber to purchase an annuity after retirement. NPS is considered to be the world's lowest cost pension scheme.
Any Indian citizen between 18 and 60 years can join NPS. Applicant can choose his investment option according to his financial goals. Subscribers can claim an additional deduction of up to Rs 50,000 for contribution to NPS under section 80 CCD (1B) of Income Tax Act, over and above tax deduction of Rs 1,50,000 available under Section 80C. NPS facility is available at nearly 800 post offices across India.
Electronic Money Order
An Electronic Money Order (e-money order) is a digital version of a traditional money order. Given below are the details as to show how it works at the post office:
| How EPO Works? | Details |
|---|---|
| Purchase | You can buy an e-money order from your local post office or through online platforms. Provide transfer details (recipient, amount) and show your ID. |
| Security | Similar to sending cash, but safer. The recipient can only cash it, ensuring security and anonymity if desired. |
| Cashing | To cash a USPS money order, visit a Post Office or certain banks. They never expire and are cashed for the exact amount on the order |