Money Order Via Mobile Phones Soon In AP

The postal department is all set to launch its third money transfer service in the state through which BSNL mobile network users can send and receive money within 10 minutes with the help of an SMS. 
    
India Post, which will start its novel service at nearly 16,000 post offices across the state, has been offering two services – the Electronic Money Transfer (EMO) and the Instant Money Transfer (IMO) – till now. Union minister of state for communication and information technology Killi Kruparani announced, “India Post will start the Mobile Money Order Service in Andhra Pradesh by June end.” An official release added: “The postal department has entered into partnership with state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to provide money order services using mobile phones. Around 95 lakh customers (approx) are using BSNL mobile phones.” 
    
The minister had recently held a meeting with the secretary, department of posts, Delhi, P Gopinath and other senior officers regarding the launch, where she instructed them to provide necessary operational training to employees of the Andhra Pradesh Postal Circle at the earliest. 
    
According to sources, the transfer process is relatively simple. A remitter can deposit cash at a nearby post office upon which the receiver would get an SMS intimation on his mobile phone. The payee has to approach the designated post office in his/her area and claim the money after disclosing the personal code sent to him/her via the SMS. 
    
Officials said the minimum money order would have to be Rs 1,000. A tariff of Rs 40 would be charged for remittances up to Rs 1,500. Similarly, the remitter would have to pay Rs 70 for deposits from Rs 1,500 to Rs 5,000 and Rs 100 for Rs 5,001 to Rs 10,000. The postal department and BSNL would share the revenue equally. The remitter would not be charged for the SMS sent, the official added.