Post Office Savings Account Vs IPPB Regular Savings Account: 5 Things To Know

Want to open a savings bank account at the post office? For opening a regular savings account, you have two options. India Post Payments Bank - which was launched last week - and India Post offer regular savings accounts to retail customers. India Post, which has a network of more than 1.5 lakh post offices across the country, pays an interest rate of 4 per cent per annum on deposits in both the savings accounts. A regular savings bank account in IPPB can be linked to the Post Office Savings Account (POSA) - or India Post savings account - wherein the day-end balance above Rs 1 lakh in the former can be swept into the latter, according to the IPPB website - ippbonline.com.

Here are five things to know about the IPPB Savings Account and Post Office Savings Account (POSA):

1. Interest rate on deposit: Deposits in a regular savings account in India Post Payments Bank earns interest at the rate of 4 per cent on EOD or End of Day balances, according to the IPPB website. Deposits in a Post Office Saving Scheme account also earn an interest rate of 4 per cent per annum, according to the India Post website - indiapost.gov.in. In both cases, the interest is calculated on a quarterly basis.

2. Minimum investment required: To open a regular savings bank account (India Post Savings Scheme) without cheque facility in India Post, a customer is required to make a minimum deposit of Rs 20. There is no such requirement for opening a regular savings account in India Post Payments Bank.

3. Maximum deposit limit: The India Post Payments Bank regular savings account allows a maximum end of day balance of Rs 1 lakh, according to the payments bank's website. There is no such maximum limit prescribed for the India Post Savings Scheme account.

4. Linking of the two accounts: The IPPB regular savings account allows the customer to link the account with his or her India Post Savings Scheme Account. In case the customer opts for such linkage, any account balance above Rs 1 lakh at the end of the day is transferred to the linked POSA account, according to IPPB.

5. Minimum balance required: In a regular savings account in IPPB, the account holder is not required to maintain a specific monthly average balance (MAB), according to its website. That means the customer is not charged a penalty fee for keeping nil account balance in a month. In an India Post Savings Scheme account, the customer is required to maintain a minimum balance of Rs 50 in case the customer has not subscribed to the cheque facility. In case of a Post Office Savings Account with cheque facility, the customer is required to maintain a balance of a minimum Rs 500 in the account.