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First, you need to cross the offline hurdle. Visit the branch, fill the Public Provident Fund (PPF) account opening form (Form A), attach all the required documents and so on.
In the case of ICICI Bank, customers who have a relationship with ICICI Bank for more than five years are required to submit Form A, passport size photograph and a copy of his/her Permanent Account Number (PAN). But, if you have been banking with ICICI Bank for less than five years, then you also need to submit an additional document -- residence proof (Passport or electricity bill) - along with the others, says the bank's website. State Bank of India and IDBI Bank, among others, also offer the online option.
Then, take the online advantage. Apart from the advantage of branchless banking, Vinay Kumar, executive director of IDBI Bank, says online PPF accounts can help retrieve details of previous also transactions any time and provide a statement of account. The customer can also make subscription to PPF by way of online transfer of funds from the linked savings bank accounts, adds Kumar. You can invest up to Rs 1 lakh, the present annual PPF subscription ceiling, in a single or multiple instalments. This entire amount, along with the annual interest of 8.70 per cent, is completely tax-exempt. There is no fee for an opening transferring of an online PPF account.
However, if you don't have a net banking account with the bank, then you would need to activate one before you convert your physical PPF account into an online one. You can get your PAN and/or savings account linked to his/her PPF account by providing an application to the branch where the PPF account is held.
Says certified financial planner Suresh Sadagopan, "This is a good option, especially for the working class who do not have time to transact through a bank branch. They will have all their PPF account details available on-the-go whenever required. At max, old timers may have apprehensions about transacting online."
You can transfer your existing PPF account to the bank offering an online facility; it can be considered an existing account. For this, you need to submit an application for transfer of your PPF account with the existing bank. It will process the application form and transfer your account to another bank. Once the transfer documents are received by the new bank, you need to give fresh account opening, nomination forms and KYC documents.
For an online PPF account, you first need to take the offline route to open it with a bank. But, do not expect to get online access to your PPF account if you do not have a savings account in the bank where you have the PPF account. You will be required to open a savings account with the bank for activating the online PPF subscription facility. PPF account passbook may not be allowed for those having an online account. You need to give a written request for the same. Of course, for fund withdrawal you will have to go about it through the bank branch, though the rules remain the same.
The Employee Provident Fund account has also been brought online, wherein you can check your balance if you have your account number in place.
