How to withdraw your PPF account money anywhere in India? Here is the Process

Posted on September 26, 2016November 14, 2019 by Jagoinvestor

Today I am going to share very interesting and rare information related to PPF with you all.

Have you ever wondered how can one withdraw their PPF money without visiting the base branch (from where PPF was opened)? A lot of people open PPF account in one city and then move to another city. It’s really a headache to travel to another city just for the sake of closing the PPF account or withdrawing the money either at maturity or partially.

withdraw ppf from any branch

I tried to see if this is a problem that PPF holders face, and I found that a lot of people search for “Can I withdraw PPF from any SBI branch”? This means that this is widespread query and I decided to write on this.

There are many articles and people on internet who will tell you that you need to visit the base branch only to withdraw or close your PPF account, but recently I figured out that its not true and there is a process using which you can close or withdraw PPF money from any city without visiting the base branch where you opened the PPF account.

Here is one reference of a query like that on Yahoo answers

I want to share with you today that its a big myth and its actually POSSIBLE.

A few days back, I got in touch with Priyesh Sampat, Legacy & Succession Counsellor from Mumbai, who has handled hundreds of PPF related cases in the past. He shared with me how is it possible to withdraw money from the PPF account without visiting the original branch and he has seen it work in real life for his old clients.

He was very helpful and shared many insights and his experience on this topic. I thank him for that.

Steps to withdraw from your PPF account from a different city

Before I share the steps for PPF withdrawal from a different city, I want to mention that the steps below are applicable when you have your PPF account with SBI or some other public bank like PNB, Vijaya Bank, etc.

The steps below will not work in case you have PPF with Post office, in which case you first have to transfer your PPF from post office to SBI bank and then you can take the following steps.

Step #1 – Arrange your KYC documents

The first step is to make sure you arrange all your KYC documents like

Form C – For PPF withdrawal
Canceled Cheque – The account in which you want to money to be credited
Your Identity & Address Proof
Your PPF passbook (in case it is available with you)

Do not sign these documents at the moment, because these need to be signed in the presence of the bank officials. You can download PPF form C here

Step #2 – Go to a local branch of the bank

The next step is to visit the local bank branch of the city where you reside or are present and talk to the staff there. Tell them that you want to withdraw your PPF, but it’s base branch is in some other city, so you want them to attest the documents.

They will ask you to sign on the documents in your presence and might also put their signature or seal on the documents confirming that your attestation is complete. Also, request the attesting banker to mention his/her name and signature code issued by RBI. This makes the attestation complete in all regards.

Step #3 – Send documents to Main Branch using Speed/Registered post

Once the bank staff completes your verification and attestation, it might happen that they keep the documents and tell you that they will themselves send the documents to the main branch, in which case take an acknowledgement from them which has their signature and seal, so that you have the proof that you gave the documents to local branch.

Otherwise, you yourself will have to send the documents to the base branch where you opened your PPF account by speed post or registered post.

It’s important that you use a speed/registered post so that you have confirmation when the documents are delivered. Also as post office is a govt organization, you have all the records and you can also find out information using RTI later.

Step #4 – Get PPF money credited in your account by NEFT/RTGS

Once the original branch gets your documents, they will process them and credit back your PPF maturity amount by NEFT/RTGS.

In earlier days the banks used to hand over the Pay orders or DD which was supposed to be received by a person, but now with NEFT/RTGS facility the money is transferred electronically.

So the process for PPF withdrawal is very simple as explained above, but let us see some finer details or cases now

Can I use the same process mentioned above in case of partial withdrawal?

The answer is YES. The above process is not just for the PPF withdrawal at maturity, but even in case of partial PPF withdrawal after completion of 7 yrs.

I have PPF in Post office, how can I withdraw?

As I mentioned above, the above process will work only in case you have your PPF with a PSU bank, so the first step is to transfer your PPF account from Post office to the PSU bank. The steps are already mentioned in this article. Read the comments where many people have shared how they successfully transferred their PPF accounts to PSU banks.

I am an NRI, how can I withdraw my PPF account from outside India?

If you are an NRI, first thing you should know that that you cannot extend your PPF account after it matures in 15 yrs period. I am sure most of the NRI’s keep travelling to India every year or once in a while if not every year. So whenever you visit India next time, you can follow the same process which is given above.

However, if you still want to try withdrawing your PPF from abroad, let me share you the process which is not guaranteed to work always, but it’s already tried by Priyesh on one of her NRI clients and it worked for them.

The process for PPF withdrawal by NRI

Basically the PSU bank can only process your PPF withdrawal request if your signature is attested by an authority, which can be the PSU bank itself (which will need your presence) or some other authority.

If an NRI has an NRE/NRO account in a bank (a good bank balance or relationship with a bank will be a plus), then they can follow this process

Courier the documents to India in the city where you have the NRE/NRO account. Make sure you send these documents to a person (relative, parents, siblings etc or friends)
Give an authority letter mentioning that you are allowing the person to follow this process on your behalf
Ask the person to go to the bank where you have NRE/NRO account and ask them to attest these documents (mainly the signature part) . At this step you can expect the friction, because this is not a standard process.
Once the attestation is done, then you can ask your person to visit the PSU bank for PPF withdrawal and they might accept these documents which are attested by your bank.

Note that Priyesh has done the same steps for one of her NRI client and it worked because the NRI was giving a very good premium each year to the bank and bank was more than happy to “help” the client 🙂

Why can’t you withdraw PPF from any branch?

Truly speaking I have no answer for that.

I know that with the advancement of technology, the PPF withdrawal process should be smoother now and it should be possible with a button of click, but as of now, it’s not the reality.

A lot of people still wait to travel to their base branch city where they opened their PPF and follow the process. However many investors never withdraw their PPF because they are not clear if it’s possible or not.

It was my attempt to bring this process in notice of yours so that you can at least try this and see if it works. If someone has done something different and successfully withdrawn their PPF from a different city, please share that with us in comment section and we will add it in the main article.

We would like to know if you got any new insights or not and this article was helpful or not?

From 1st Oct, Insurance policies will be issued online (even renewal policies)

Posted on September 17, 2016November 14, 2019 by Jagoinvestor

Starting 1st Oct 2016, all the insurance policies are going to be issued in electronic form.

Yes, you heard it right

Few years back IRDA had come up with the concept of 13 digit e-Insurance Account (EIA), where an investor had the option to convert their existing physical policies into demat form, but till now it was not mandatory. However now things have changed and starting 1st Oct,2016 it has become compulsory.

Now, every insurance company has to issue all kinds of insurance policies in an online format. So if you are buying any kind of insurance policies (life, health, motor, pension policies and all kind of general insurance policies too) you need to have an e-Insurance Account (EIA) and the policies will be issued in Demat form only in that account.

This will be true even for renewal policies. So even if you are not buying any fresh new policy, at the time of your policy renewal this will apply to you

Under which cases, is this e-insurance account mandatory?

This e-account is required only if the annual premium crosses Rs 10,000 for most of the policies like term plan and health insurance or if the sum assured is above 5-10 lacs. The exact requirement is as follows for various kind of policies (source link)

e-insurance-rules-policies

How to open E-Insurance Account?

Step 1: Choose the Insurance Repository

There are 5 registered insurance repositories in the country, licensed by IRDA, out of which you need to choose one. These are …

CAMS Repository Services
SHCIL Projects Limited
Central Insurance Repository
Karvy Insurance Repository
NSDL Database Management

Note that you can choose any one of them, and there won’t be any difference, other than level of service. At the backend, everything will be the same. Also if you are not satisfied with your insurance repository provider service, you can switch to another one later.

Step 2: Fill up the form and submit the documents

The process now is very simple, once you have decided the repository company, all you need to do is fill-up the form and attach your KYC documents and submit it to their office in your city.

CAMSrepository also has an option where you can first fill-up the form online and then download the filled form. I think it will work for most people and save time. If you want to fill the form offline, you can download e-insurance account opening form here

Following are the documents you need to submit

e-Insurance Account form (fill by hand OR filled online one)
Date of Birth Proof (PAN , Passport, Voter Id etc)
Photocopy of ID proof (PAN or Aadhaar Card)
Photocopy of Address proof (Aadhaar, Passport, Electricity or Telephone Bill etc)
Canceled cheque
Passport size photograph

Note that the canceled cheque is required so that the information of the bank account is captured beforehand, Any maturity proceeds or claim amount will be paid in this same account. Ideally, this should be the same one from where the insurance premium is paid, but not mandatory.

All the major insurance companies like LIC, ICICI, HDFC, and others have already joined hands with this facility.

Check out this short video created by CAMS team

Once you submit the documents, it will just take a few days to open the account.

If you need the detailed list of the documents required, you can view this PDF document (2nd page)

The concept of Authorized Representative

A special feature called “Authorized Representative” is introduced in this e-insurance account where an investor can assign someone trustworthy or close to being AI (authorized representative) who will be able to access the details of the account in case of death of the policyholder. This is different than the nominee.

For example, I can give my close friend name and details in the AI section ask him to have a look at all my details in case I am dead and ask him to communicate things to my family as per my plan.

Features and Benefits of e-Insurance Account (EIA)

Let me know to share some benefits and key points of this e-insurance account and how it will benefit the overall insurance industry as well as the investor, even though it may look like another hassle to you right now

FREE account – This account will be 100% FREE account for investors, there are no charges or maintenance fees to be paid by anyone. One person will have only a single account (like PAN)
All policies at one place – This will be the single point of contact for investors to view, download and manage their insurance policies, be it life, health, motor or any travel insurance policy.
No KYC repetition while buying new policies – After doing the KYC first time, you won’t have to do it again and again when you buy new policies. All you would need to do is mention your EIA number and buy the policy.
Get reminders – You will get reminders for your policy maturity, payment reminders and any other important updates.
Single place to update your KYC – IF you want to update your mobile, address or other details, you will just have to update it in e-insurance account and not in each policy individually.

Understand that with this initiative, the insurance companies will simplify their process and a good amount will be saved as there won’t be a lot of paperwork involved (printing of documents, courier etc) and that’s why insurance companies will fund this initiative and will keep it FREE for investors.

Converting your existing physical Policy in Electronic form

I know you must be thinking about what will happen to my existing policies which I have bought till date? So, there is a simple process to convert them online.

Once you open the e-insurance account, you can apply for conversion of your existing policies into the online form (its good that you do it beforehand, because at the time of renewal it’s going to happen anyways going forward)

As per Cam’s repository FAQ point 18, you can just mention your policy number and it will be converted into an online format

18. How do I convert my existing paper policy into electronic form?

If you already have eInsurance account, log in to your eInsurance account, click on “ePolicy conversion” and enter your policy number, name of Insurance company that needs to be converted into ePolicy. In the next few days, your policy will be converted into ePolicy.

You can also download the policy conversion form and submit it for offline -> online conversion of policies

Please share what do you think about this new rule? Do you think it will help investors and the insurance industry?

CIBIL introduces Subscription Services!. Get 4 quarterly reports at Rs 1,200

Posted on September 12, 2016November 14, 2019 by Jagoinvestor

CIBIL has now started subscription services for its customers. Now you can get bimonthly or quarterly CIBIL Reports if you want to track your credit score on an ongoing basis, then this service is for you.

cibil subscription services

How to apply for the CIBIL report on a subscription basis?

Earlier you only had an option to buy your CIBIL Credit Report on a one-time basis by paying fees. Now you can buy it on a subscription basis if you wish to.

You need to visit https://www.cibil.com/creditscore/. There you will see 3 options which have 1 report (one time), 2 reports (half-yearly) or 4 reports (quarterly). One can choose any one of these options and fill up other authentication-related details and then make the payment online. You will start getting your reports on email.
cibil subscription charges

Who should opt for the CIBIL subscription?

I think all those investors who are going to apply for loans in near future and want to keep a watch on their scores or those investors whose CIBIL Reports were bad earlier and they have taken steps to improve their scores, can apply for CIBIL subscription so that they get the periodic reports. However also note that from the coming year, CIBIL will provide one FREE report anyways

At this point of time, the one-time CIBIL Report + score costs Rs 550, if you apply for another report within the period of 12 months, then your total cost anyways will be Rs 1,100 , where as the quarterly subscription cost Rs 1,200. However if you are the first time applicant, I suggest only buy the one time report.

Apply compounding to your life – Secret of creating a great financial life

Posted on September 5, 2016November 14, 2019 by Nandish Desai

To create wealth, you have to first get in touch with the power of compounding. I am not just talking about the mathematical concept here but making the “compounding” your way of life. You will understand what I am talking about as you move forward.

Today’s write-up is close to my heart.

It is not just an article, it is about someone experiencing a breakthrough in his overall life. I thought of sharing some of the conversations we exchanged with one of our clients because there is something important to learn from it and it has the power to strengthen your journey as an investor.

Power of Compounding in your life

What happens if you just improve by 1%?

Nothing!

Yes, nothing will happen to you if you improve your skills, attitude, salary, net worth, relationship by 1%, but when you improve it constantly by a small margin for a very long time? What happens if you do that for 365 days?

Then?

Here is what happens!

You bring a drastic change in any area because you are allowing the compounding to work there. See the image below …

Let me share an incident with a client where he emailed me about himself and how he wanted to improve. Below is the conversation. Please go through the full conversation until the end.

Here is the first email, which hit my mailbox

Dear Nandish,

I am one of your financial planning clients and I would like you to coach me in the area of money. I am a competent person, have a solid work experience and also earn decent money each month but still my financial life is a mess”. Can you please help me find the solution to my problem?

I tried hard to get the answer but failed to crack this issue.

Thanks

XXXXXXX

And here was my Reply

Dear Client,

Thanks for writing to me and for showing trust in me. I may not have a readymade solution for your problem but I can surely help you to see your situation under a different light.

Before I suggest you anything I have a simple question to ask:

Question: Tell me how many areas in your life you have you been consistent with from last 5-10 years time?

In Service,

Nandish

To this, the client replies back …

Dear Nandish,

I really can’t figure out any such area from my life where I have been consistent from last 5 – 7 years.

Let me know what I need to do now.

XXXXX

My Reply

Dear Client,

I invite you to look into your life and check for yourself, maybe what is missing in your life is the power of compounding, compounding as a way of life and not just mere as a concept. The majority of people know compounding only as a concept. There are very few who experience the real power of it.

The Situation you are into may sound like a mystery to you but in reality it is not.

Now, getting this insight is not enough and so I have an assignment for you for the Next 1 year.

Assignment:

If you really want to experience the power of compounding you will have to take-up 3 more areas along with the area of money. Compounding is all about expanding your capacity as a person and so it is important to pick some more areas. Pick any four areas in your life which are new to you and engaging with them will help you to practice the power of compounding for the Next 1 year.

I would like to hear back from your experience exactly after a year from now and not before that.

If you are game for this assignment let me know.

I want you to just not have amazing ideas but also focus on the action part and execute what you are thinking because only that action will bring the compounding into action, Check the image below and you will get what I am trying to say.

Reply from client

Dear Nandish,

Thank you, coach. I am a game for this assignment.

My 4 areas

Health: Will join gym and work with my trainer

Music: I always wanted to learn Guitar but never started

Quit Smoking: I would like to get rid of my smoking habit

Money Management: Complete actions as per the plan and start my sip of 25k pm for next 1 year

Thanks, Nandish. Thanks for coaching me and for giving a sense of direction to my life. I will let you know my experience exactly after a year.

Thanks once again. Thanks a lot.

Excited Client

XXXXX

I then received his reply, exactly after a year.

Dear Nandish,

I am one of your most excited and enlightened Financial planning clients, remember you gave me an assignment 1 year back to practice the power of compounding.

Here is the assignment you gave me

Assignment:

If you really want to experience the power of compounding you will have to take-up 3 more areas along with the area of money. Compounding is all about expanding your capacity. Pick any four areas in your life which are new to you and engaging with them will help you to practice power of compounding for the Next 1 year

My Life has completely changed the day I started doing the assignment. I created a journal for all four areas and started to capture my experiences. Before I share about my assignment I just want to say I am extremely happy as an investor and in each and every area of my life.

Here are some of the highlights from each area:

Health: I joined the gym the very next day and the first thing I did was hired a personal trainer. I shared with him about my assignment and he chalked out a well designed 1-year exercise plan for me. We decided to exercise 5 Days a week along with a specific diet plan. The first month was tough to follow but I slowly daily exercise started to become an integral part of my life. My strength , stamina, and overall fitness have gone to a whole level in last 1 year. I would like to thank you and my personal trainer for getting me started.

Music: I joined the music school; again the first month was difficult. In the start, I could not even hold the guitar. I was not comfortable with the guitar and even the guitar was not comfortable with me. My Music sir always emphasizes on one word “PRACTICE”. My sir kept reminding me that practice leads to compounding and eventually it leads to mastery. I slowly started playing songs and now music really relaxes me from all the noise out in the world. I am so happy I got connected to music, it has taught me many things in last 1 year.

Quit Smoking: This was the hardest of the all. Initially, it looked impossible for me to quit smoking but I really wanted to get rid of my smoking habit and I started putting efforts. I decided not to hold the cigarette between my two fingers, no matter what. I also shared about my project with my friends and family members and they really supported me a lot in this area. My commitment to fitness and music also helped me a lot to get rid of my habit. I can now call myself a non-smoker. I am free, completely free from my habit of smoking and it feels great.

Personal finance: Happy to share all the personal finance actions that you suggested in the plan are complete. I took help of your team and completed all the required actions. I also started my sip as per the commitment I made. Today, my financial life is in sync with my dreams, goals, and aspirations. Thanks to you and your team for all the support and guidance. I realized that personal finance is all about actions; it is not about worrying about future or regretting about the past. I can say in this area things have shifted and things are moving in the right direction. I am happy in the area of money.

Thank you for assigning a wonderful project to me, I keep sharing with my team and other about the power of compounding and I keep getting people coming and sharing their results with me. Thank you for bringing the magic back into my life.

Conclusion

Can you see the real power that resides in the word “compounding”? It is not about how your money grows but how you grow as a person. Pick any 4 areas in your life and start engaging with them. The more you engage, the more you will grow in those areas. Don’t take only one area because one single area takes a back seat very easily.

Now tell me which area you want to improve and start working on improving it by 1% each day or even a week. Watch out this video below to get a more detailed idea on this

Many of you may be new to investing or equities do not get scared try out this assignment and see what happens after 1 year. Make the power of compounding your way of life and don’t just know it as a concept. Do share your views in the comment section; most importantly I would like to hear about your 1-year project which will help you to practice the power of compounding.

This article is written by Nandish Desai…