Money orders fall out of favour as ATMs step in

Money orders fall out of favour as ATMs step in
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 16
In this era of fast communication, people want quick services and the postal department has also not remained unaffected by it.
Adapting to the trend, migrant labourers, once totally dependent on the traditional money order service of the postal department, have now started using it less frequently, moving on to technologically more advanced methods.
With the emergence of the ATM facility provided by almost every bank, they have started switching their decades-old relationship with the postal department.
"I used to save money and immediately after the savings amount reached the Rs 5,000 mark, it was my first job to go to the post office and book a money order to send the money to my family at a small village in Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh," said a 50-year-old labourer Hari Vallabh Ram.
"But with the introduction of the ATM facility in government banks, which is quite simple and almost free from any transaction expenses, I stopped going for money orders. Now, I deposit money in the savings account of the bank and tell my kin at home to withdraw it as and when required through the ATM card, which is with them," he added.
This is not only the story of Hari Vallabh Ram. A majority of the migrant labourers working in Punjab to earn a livelihood have switched to the ATM facility of banks from the traditional money order service of the Indian postal department.
Though finding the customers (especially migrants) running away from their expensive service (charge @ Rs one for Rs 20), the postal department introduced the electronic money order (eMO) facility, which is a comparatively quicker than the traditional MO. But it could not succeed in attracting the migrant labourers as the service charges remained unchanged.
The data collected from the Bathinda head post office, which is the parental office of 35 post offices and 200 rural post office branches in Bathinda and Mansa districts, the total money order amount sent has seen a steep downfall since the year 2007-08.
In the year 2007-08, a sum of total Rs 6.25 crore was sent through money orders, while the next year (2008-09) it was Rs 5.13 crore. The downfall continued in the coming years also as in the year 2009-10, a total of Rs 3.25 crore was sent through money orders which was further decreased to Rs 2.38 crore in the year 2010-11.
Though the post office officials claim that with the introduction of eMO service, the money order service regained some life and people sent Rs 1.89 crore through eMO in 2010-11, they agree that out of the total eMO consumers the number of migrant labourers was negligible.
Besides the expensive service, one more reason that is pushing the labourers away from the money orders is that the whole amount comes in the hand of the recipient in a single lot that makes a safety risk. On the other hand, they feel the ATM transactions comparatively safer as one can withdraw the amount as and when required.
The postmaster, head post office, Bathinda, Parshotam Dass, said, "We have another option that is cheaper and faster-instant money order (IMO). But despite efforts, the migrant labourers are still not becoming familiar to it. Now the postal department is going to launch Core Banking Project (CBP), which is expected to come soon in Bathinda.
"Once the CBP is introduced, we are sure our customers will return to us as the trust worthiness of the postal department remains unchallenged," he added.