Post Office Savings Account: Eligibility, Benefits and Application

The post office savings account is a kind of depository scheme provided by the post office throughout India. The account will provide a fixed rate of interest on the account balance. It is a beneficial scheme for individual investors who wish to earn a fixed interest rate by investing a significant portion of their financial assets.

A post office savings account is a very helpful scheme for those living in the rural parts of India as well. Since the pan India reach of post offices is much more prominent when contrasted with banks, a large number of underprivileged people have had the option to gain access to savings accounts through post offices.

Eligibility criteria

The applicants have to satisfy the following eligibility criteria for opening a post office savings account:

1. The applicant should be 18 years of age or above
2. The adult applicant should be an Indian
3. If the applicant is a minor who needs to open a post office savings account, they should be at least 10 years of age
4. The parent or guardian can also open the account on behalf of the minor applicant
5. Multiple applicants can also open a joint post office savings account
6. In case the applicant is not of sound mind, they can still open a post office savings account

Benefits of post office savings account

Opening a savings account in a post office is more convenient and easier than opening one in the bank. Some of the other benefits of a post office savings account are:

1. The minimum amount required for opening a post office savings account is Rs 20
2. The cash amount can be withdrawn either completely or partly
3. The account can be transferred from one post office to another
4. Facilities like ATM/Debit cards are also available at core banking post offices
5. Risk exposure is less to the account holders since they can avail of assured return on all the investments
6. The account holder of a post office savings account can nominate a person to whom the funds will be transferred on the demise of the account holder
7. A post office account does not have a maturity period. Therefore, the account opening procedure is simple and hassle-free.
8. An individual account can be converted into a joint account or vice-versa
9. Individuals residing in the rural parts of India can open a savings account with the post-office

Application procedure of opening an account

The application process of opening a post office savings account is the following:

1. Obtain a form from the nearest post office for applying offline. A separate form is available for senior citizens as well
2. Fill in the necessary details and submit them along with the necessary photographs and KYC documents
3. Make the payment of the amount that you wish to deposit, the amount being not less than Rs 20
4. In case you want to open an account without a cheque book, the minimum deposit amount is Rs 50
5. Once you pay the deposit amount, your post office savings account will be generated