In India, when you talk about savings and investment, the first thing comes in people’s mind is fixed deposits. Indians, by nature, are conservative when it comes to their money. They still believe in traditional fixed deposits. If you ask anyone about savings and investing, they would prefer to do fixed deposits. There is all the more reason due to the recent Coronavirus outbreak which made people more conservative. While we talk about the fixed deposit how can we not talk about the Post Office Time Deposit? It is one of the best options available currently as all the banks have reduced the fixed deposit rates to the bottom rock.
In this article, we will discuss about what is post office time deposit, it’s benefits and how to open post office deposit by yourself.
Post office deposits are one of the safest investment options that not only offer the safety of your money, but it also offers attractive interest rates as compared to the bank deposit interest rates. Post office time deposit is 100% secure as it is backed by the government of India. No. matter what happens your money deposited in the post office is safe all the time.
What is Post Office Time Deposit?
Post office time deposit is one of the very popular investment options available in India. It is famous among the rural population as compared to urban India. It is famous in a rural area because banks have no reach to these remote villages, hence the people of rural India are left with only one option, a Post office.
Time deposit scheme offers complete flexibility for the person who can choose the time period and interest amount withdrawal options. The interest offered by the post office time deposit is always higher than the traditional bank fixed deposits.
Features of Post Office Time Deposit
- Flexible tenure of 1, 2, 3 & 5 years.
- Higher interest rate as compared to traditional banks.
- You can open a joint account. (Up to 3 adults)
- Guaranteed return on your investment.
- You can transfer the time deposit account from one branch to another branch easily.
- You can extend the tenure of the time deposit upon maturity.
- If you don’t extend the tenure of withdrawing the money, it will automatically renew.
- You can have multiple time deposit account at one branch.
- Time deposit starts at as low as ₹ 1000 and multiplication of ₹ 100 then after.
- Safe and secure investment option.
- A nomination facility is available.
- 5 Year Time Deposits qualify for tax deduction under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.
- Premature withdrawal of the amount is allowed.
- Interest shall be payable annually and will be credited to the saving account.
Time Deposit Interest rates
| Tenure of the time deposit | Interest Rate |
|---|---|
| Time deposit up to 1 year | 5.5% |
| Time deposit up to 2 year | 5.5% |
| Time deposit up to 3 year | 5.5% |
| Time deposit up to 5 year | 6.7% |
Eligibility Criteria for Time Deposit
- Any adult person can open the time deposit
- Indian residents only can open a time deposit account. NRIs are not allowed.
- A guardian can open the time deposit account on behalf of the minor.
- A guardian can open the time deposit account on behalf of the unsound mind person.
- A minor can open the account in his/her own name after the age of 10 years.
How to open post office time deposit online?
For opening a time deposit online, you need to have a post office saving account. Also, the internet banking facility should be active on your account.
You also need below set of documents to open time deposit online.
- A valid and active post office saving account with an internet banking facility.
- PAN card
- KYC documents like an Aadhaar card, driving license, etc.
- Debit card
- Registered Mobile number & e-mail ID.
Here is the step-by-step process of opening time deposit online.
- Go to the Post office online site here.
- Log in with your username and password.
- Go to the general request tab.
- Find the service request and click on it.
- Click on the ‘New Request’ to open the time deposit.
- Enter the amount you want to open a time deposit.
- Select the deposit tenure.
- Update the nominee details and submit the request.
- The time deposit will be generated in your account. The money will be deducted from your savings account.
FAQs – Post Office Time Deposit
It is 100% safe and secure to open a time deposit with the post office. Your money is completed safely as the post office is backed by the Government of India.
The minimum amount for time deposit is ₹ 1000 and multiplication of ₹ 100 then after.
On the maturity you can renew the time deposit for next 1, 2, 3 or 5 years.
No., NRIs are not allowed for time deposits. You must be an Indian resident to open time deposit.
There is no upper limit for time deposit.
Yes, you can have any number of time deposit simultaneously.
Conclusion:
Post Office TIme deposit is one of the best option when it comes to fixed deposits. I would prefer to invest into time deposits instead of bank’s fixed deposits. It offers higher return and security of your money. Where would you find such a combination? You should surely invest into time deposits offered by post office.
when I try to open new TD online I go to the Post Office on line and try ener as a new customer. When I give my name for customer-id and my Post Office SB a/c no. for Account-id it is asking me ‘give valid customer-id’ What is this valid custome-id for a new customer. ? So I am not able to open on-line account for investing on a FD.
Can we open and invest o FD for a Senior Citizen, on-line.? At this Corona period senior citizens cannot go out of theri house.