PPF deposit: Finding it difficult to deposit money in your PPF account online? Here are different ways to invest before the April 5 date

Individuals investing in Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) and Public Provident Fund (PPF) must ensure that the money is credited into the account before April 5 to get the best returns from the investment for the current financial year, 2024-25.

In fact, State Bank of India (SBI) has been sending SMSs to its customers stating the following: Dear Customer, As per GoI guidelines, Investment in PPF A/c made on or before 5th of the month qualifies for interest for the month. Pls invest accordingly.-SBI.

The PPF interest rate for the April-June 2024 quarter is 7.1%.


Also read: PPF, SSY, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, other post office schemes interest rates for April- June quarter 2024

However, many individuals have been facing issues while depositing money into their PPF or SSY accounts.

On an earlier ET Online story on why investments in PPF should be made before the April 5 date, many readers commented saying that the India Post and India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) servers were down and they haven’t been able to deposit money into their PPF and SSY accounts.

You can read the full story and the reader comments here: Not making PPF investment before April 5 can cost this much in interest

One reader commented, “Everything is currently down ippb, post office etc, no one is able to transfer money and even if you do, balance is still the old. also, ippb account is not functioning so everything is standstill.”

Another commented, “On first and second april, 2024, the transactions were officially closed in all post offices. and, today on third april, the server was said to be down all day through by the post office employees. thus it was not possible to deposit any amount in sector-4, panchkula post office. the situation was stated to the same all over india. it is not understood as to how such a big network can fail continuously for so long without no one ever held responsible. what a poor reflection! and even if the server starts working on fourth / fifth, which cannot be ascertained at the moment, then the accumulated backlog will not get cleared before fifth april in the face of reluctant staff and the limited working hours. this is really painful.”

Also read: 7.1% PPF interest rate or 8.2% returns from Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS): Where should someone in 20% tax bracket invest?

Not just on the story, but there has been chatter on social media and the Internet on how people have been faced with technical glitches.

Union Bank
Seriously, your any link below it be PPF or SSY contribution throwing user out and showing this page when I tried to contribute, Please let me know how I can move out my PPF & SSY account to SBI at least they don't lack at IT infrastructure, and throw out IBM.


IPPB
IPPB Online and also in the IPPB transaction statement it is showing that the amount is debited from my account for crediting into my PPF A/c. I'm concerned whether the amount actually got credited to my PPF A/c till the time I update my PPF passbook. Any other way to confirm?

From last 4 days IPPB app is not working proper the amount is debited from IPPB account and not credited in PPF account. Kindly improve the service otherwise stop the banking work.


If you are an investor in PPF and SSY and finding it difficult to invest in the same, here are different ways to invest in Public Provident Fund and Sykanya Samriddhi Yojana
If you are finding it difficult to make investments in to your PPF account, here are different ways you can do it.

Different ways to invest in PPF

NEFT
One way to transfer money between bank accounts is through the National Electronic Funds Transfer, or NEFT. You can use Net-banking to do it online. A PPF account number and the IFSC of the bank branch holding the PPF account are required in order to make payments online. You may transfer money using NEFT from current and savings accounts. Both intrabank and interbank transactions are possible.

ECS Mandate
For a PPF account, you may set up an ECS mandate. The money is automatically debited of your bank account and transferred into your PPF account using the ECS mandate option. Initiate this procedure by going to the closest bank branch and signing the ECS mandate form, then submitting it to your bank.

Standing instruction
Once you have given the bank the standing instruction, the money will be automatically taken from your bank (savings/current) account and put into your PPF account. It is a flexible system in which money can be deposited on a monthly or daily basis, subject to a maximum deposit restriction of Rs 1.5 lakh for PPF accounts every year.

Mobile Banking app
Additionally, you may use your bank's mobile banking app to make your PPF payments online. You may only make these PPF contributions, though, if your PPF account is connected to your savings account at the relevant bank.

Why it is important to make investments in PPF before April 5

According to the PPF scheme, the interest in the PPF account is calculated based on the lowest balance in the PPF account between the 5th of every month and at the end of month. So if PPF investors are making a lumpsum payment for the financial year, it must be done before April 5 to maximise the earnings. This becomes crucial for people who make a single annual bulk deposit, as any delay will result in the loss of an entire month’s interest on the annual deposit.

For those making monthly payments to their PPF accounts, monthly contributions must be done on or before the 5th of every month to ensure there is no loss of interest.

Different ways to invest in SSY

Investors in SSY can deposit through cash, cheque, demand draft or online transfer using their account. For an SSY account, the minimum deposit amount is Rs. 250 (it was formerly Rs. 1,000), and the maximum is Rs. 1,50,000 for each financial year, for a maximum of 15 years. Deposits are made in multiples of Rs. 50 after that.