Indian Postal Dept launches instant MO service

Here is some good news for citizens who use money orders to transfer funds. The Postal Department has launched instant money order (IMO) service in the City after a successful trial on Thursday.
The new system offers twin benefits in that the fund transfer is faster and the upper limit of the amount has been raised manifold. The service has been initially started in two main post offices of the City – the GPO and town post office – and will soon be launched in 22 other post offices of the division, said department officials.
Under the new system, a person needs to fill up a form with details and addresses. Sums between Rs 1,000 and Rs 50,000 can be sent, and the charges range from Rs 150 to Rs 330. After collecting the cash, the post office issues a unique 16-digit IMO number known only to the sender. There are also 16 standardised messages that can be sent with the money.
At the other end, the recipient can furnish identification and collect the money either at his house or from a designated post office after filling up a form. This service is currently available in select cities of the country.
The IMO service makes use of software designed by National Informatics Centre that makes it possible to transfer the funds in a few minutes much in the same way as international money transactions are carried out. The code numbers are computer-generated, and all the computers are linked to a server.
The minimum transaction amount has been fixed at Rs 1,000 while the upper limit has been set at Rs 20,000 for cash and Rs 50,000 for payment through cheque.
On the other hand, the manual money order service allows maximum cash transfer of Rs 5,000, which entails a commission of five per cent.