Instant money order through post offices!

Once upon a time, there was only one option for anyone to send money to any person in another city. That is the postal money order and it generally takes a few days to reach. Then came online services of banks. Now, one can send money to any person in the country within a few hours through online accounts of banks. Only those persons who have no bank accounts are still using the money order service and sending money instantly. After filling up the form, the person to whom you have to send the money can take it within a few minutes. The facility is available for sending money abroad also.

Instant Money Order (IMO)

One can send money instantly through this service. Any Indian can send the money to anyone in the country. The maximum limit to send the money in this way is Rs.50,000. One can go to any post office, fill in the form “To Remit Payment” there and pay the required charges. The postal staff will give you a 16 digit number in a sealed condition. One has to inform this number to the person to whom you have to send the money. You can inform the number by a phone call, through e-mail or SMS. The person at the other end can go to the post office with any identity proof, tell the 16-digit number and get the money. The entire process takes only a few minutes.

The service charges for sending the money this way are as follows:

Amount of money                           Service Charges

Rs.1000 to Rs.10,000                            Rs.100

Rs.10,001 to Rs.30,000                         Rs.110

Rs.30,001 to Rs.50,000                         Rs.129

The identity cards that are accepted for getting the money are Voter ID card, PAN card, Ration card, Post Office ID card, Driving Licence, Passport and Identity card issued by school or college.

International Money Transfer/Money Gram Money Transfer

Through this service, one can get money from a person residing in another country. The persons in other countries can make use of the service to send money to their family members in India. It can also be used by the foreign tourists coming to India.

To send the money through this service, one has to go to the Post Office, pay the money and get Money Transfer Control Number or Reference Number. One has to inform the number to the person to whom one has to send the money. At the other end, the person can get the money by going to the Post Office, showing their identity proof and repeating the number. The entire process takes only a few minutes. As per the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India, one can send only $2500 at a time. One can send the money for a maximum of 30 times in a year. Only an amount of Rs.50,000 is paid to the beneficiary in this mode.If the money is more than this, it should be sent by payee cheque in the post office on beneficiary's name.

IFS Money Order

Through this service, one can send money to the persons residing in other countries. However, the service is at present limited to the UAE, France and some other countries only. This service is at present available in 17,500 post offices across the country. One can send the maximum amount of $2500 only at a time. The beneficiary will get the money in Indian rupees and upto Rs.50,000 only. If the amount of money exceeds the figure, a cheque will be given. One is not allowed to use the service more than 30 times in a year. The postal staff will give the sender unique MO number, which should be informed to the beneficiary for getting the money. The beneficiary can get the money at the foreign post offices where IFS facility is available.