Public Provident Fund, PPF, is one of the most reliable investment tools for many Indian citizens. PPF payments can be made offline as well as online. There are several options available to make a PPF online payment easily. Continue reading this blog to learn about this not-so-complex process to make PPF online payment without any hassles.

The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) mobile app is used for banking and postal department services. The app provides online payment facility for your PPF account and promptly notifies you after a successful payment transfer is made via IPPB mobile app.

Ways to Make a PPF Account Payment

The most conventional methods of making a payment for PPF include visiting the post office or the bank. To pay by cheque/cash, you need to fill up Form B with all necessary details and submit it.

You can make PPF online payment through the bank’s mobile app, NEFT, ECS Mandates, and standing instructions. Explained below are the various online methods of PPF payment in detail:

Mobile Banking – With the ease and technological advancements, people find it convenient to make all types of transactions using their mobile phones, making it quite a popular PPF payment method. Simply, download the mobile app of your bank on your phone and look out for PPF payment. However, you must make sure that your PPF account is linked to your savings account and your bank to make payments.
NEFT – National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) is managed by RBI which allows the transfer of funds between bank accounts in India. One can make transfers from their savings/current bank account to the PPF account from anywhere. All you need is to ensure that your bank provides the NEFT facility for PPF account transfer. You will require the PPF account number and IFSC code of your bank’s branch to avail of this facility. These details are mentioned in the PPF account passbook.
ECS – Like NEFT, the ECS system also works for inter and intra bank transactions. A fixed amount of money can be sent from one particular bank account to another, periodically. To activate the ECS (Electronic Clearing System) facility, you will have to visit your bank, sign a document and submit it. Once activated, this system automatically deducts money from your bank account and it gets deposited into your PPF account.
Standing Instructions (SI) – In this process, the account holder gives instructions to the bank for fund transfer to PPF account from the same or a different bank. It is a flexible and easy deposit process. Note that the SI tenure of PPF amount transfer varies from bank to bank.

Missing PPF Payments

It is quite likely that you miss out on making your annual PPF payments. However, if that happens, you will be charged a penalty fee if you have insufficient balance in your savings account and the payment via ECS bounces.

If you miss an annual deposit payment for PPF, your account will be deactivated. In such cases, you can easily reactivate the account by paying the penalty of Rs. 50 and your due, Rs. 500 for every year of missing the minimum payment amount for your PPF account.

Rules for Making PPF Payment

While making the online payment for your PPF account, you must remember the following key points:

The minimum annual payment is Rs. 500 to keep your PPF account in good standing.
The maximum payment allowed into a PPF account is Rs. 1.5 lakh annually.
You may pay this amount as a lump sum or in instalments.
The maximum number of instalments in a year is limited to 12.

Important Points to Consider

An individual can have a single PPF account by his/her name and additional accounts can be opened on behalf of minors.
Non-resident Indians (NRIs) cannot have a PPF account.
Transfer of the PPF account is not allowed from one person to another.
A nominee cannot continue to have a PPF account in the name of the deceased account holder.
The nomination can be changed by submitting an application.
You can easily transfer your PPF account from the bank to the post office or another bank or branch.

Conclusion

PPF is a great investment scheme, best suited for people with a low-risk appetite. It allows people to have a retirement corpus, while offering a higher interest rate than fixed deposits. Note that you need to make a minimum investment of Rs. 100 while opening a PPF account. The maturity period for a PPF investment is 15 years. However, you can prematurely withdraw 50% of the balance amount from your PPF balance at the end of the 5th year. The PPF investment scheme is supported by the Indian government and hence, involves no risk. The rate of interest on PPF savings is 8% per annum at present and under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act of 1961, an investor can enjoy tax benefits. You can choose any of the above mentioned PPF online payment methods to securely pay and maintain your PPF account.