Post office RD account is a savings scheme offered by the India Post with the backing of the Government of India. It is one of the many schemes being offered by the Department of Posts. With the digitisation of most investment formats these days, even the Post office RD can be accessed online. Right from registering for an RD scheme to creating a login for the RD account and even making payments, all of this and much more can be done online.
If you have enrolled for this scheme, here’s a look at how you can check your post office RD account login online.
How to check post office RD account login online?
To check your post office, RD account login online, you must first create a login for your post office RD account. For this, you must register for Internet Banking or Post Office Online Services. To register, you can follow the below-mentioned steps:
- You must visit the post office home branch where you have enrolled for the RD. A home branch is one where you have a savings B post office account.
- To get a login for Post Office RD, you must fill out the application form at the post office. Enter all the required details and furnish necessary documents to the post office representative.
- The post office will activate your internet banking login credentials and access within 1-2 days. Once activated, you will receive a confirmation message on your mobile number.
- Once you have your RD account login credentials, you can begin investing in Post Office RD online using the same.
With the login details and access, you can easily check all the information around your investment online.
Facilities available with post office RD account login
With the internet banking facility attached to a post office RD account, the Department of Posts allows users to carry out a number of activities. Some of the common activities that one can explore through this access are:
- Modify login ID and password
- Verification of personal details mentioned in the account
- Account summary
- All the details of one’s RD account
- Details of any loan taken against RD
- TDS (tax deducted at source) details
- RD account transactions such as deposits in the account and repayment of loans against RD account
Additionally, with the online access to a post office RD account, one can also enable email facility, request for an account-specific service or give feedback regarding the services.
Is post office RD a good investment?
Post office RD investment is ideal for investors who are risk averse as this investment format is risk-free due to government backing. Investors who have a medium-term investment horizon can park their funds in this investment avenue since it has a tenure of 5 years. Investors must make deposits at regular intervals in the RD account. The interest on this investment gets accrued and compounded every quarter.
The table below contains additional features of the post office RD investment:
| Eligibility | Any Indian citizen who is a minimum of 18 years of age can opt for post office RD. Children in the age group of 10-18 years will require a parent or guardian to open a joint RD account on their behalf. |
| Minimum amount | One must deposit a minimum of Rs. 10 every month. There is no maximum limit on the deposits to this account. |
| Tenure | 5 years and it can be further extended by additional 5 years. |
| Rate of return | Annual interest rate is 7.2% compounded every quarter. One can calculate returns from investment using the compound interest formula. |
| Tax exemptions | Tax deduction of up to Rs. 1.5 lakhs per annum is applicable under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. Interest earnings are subject to tax deductions. |
RD interest rate 2023
The Post office RD interest rates applicable for 2023 are:
| Interest Rate | 5.8% p.a. (Compounded quarterly) |
| RD account tenure | 5 Years |
| Minimum Deposit amount | Rs.100 per month |
| Maximum Deposit amount | No cap |
| Penalty | Re.1 for every Rs.100 of missed deposit |
Loan on RD account
A person can take out a loan against their Post Office Recurring Deposit (RD) account after they have made 12 monthly deposits and kept the account open for a year. The person can borrow up to half of the balance in their account. The loan can be repaid either in full or in equal monthly instalments. The interest on the loan will be calculated as 2% plus the interest rate of the RD account and will be charged from the date of withdrawal to the date of repayment. If the loan is not repaid by the maturity date, the loan amount plus interest will be deducted from the maturity value of the person’s RD account.
Conclusion
Those invested in post office RD accounts must ensure to get their login credentials for easy online access of their accounts. This way, investors need not physically reach out to the post office branch every time they want to access their accounts.
FAQs
Premature withdrawal from a post office RD is allowed only after completion of 1 year from the account opening date. An investor can withdraw 50% of the corpus after 1 year. However, in such cases, a charge of 1% is applicable on the amount withdrawn.
Post office recurring deposit can be an excellent avenue to set aside a long-term corpus through monthly investments. It allows one to develop a savings habit while ensuring risk-free returns in the long run.
Post office RD offers better safety than a bank FD since it comes with government backing. Thus, an investor’s capital is protected with guaranteed interest income.
Apart from tax benefits, Post office RD offers a higher interest rate at 7.2% as against bank RDs that offer interest rates in the range of 5-6% depending on the bank and tenure. However, post office RDs have a tenure of 5 years against bank RDs that come with varying tenures.
