India Post ties up with UAE group to launch ‘Instant Cash’ money transfer service

India Post, under the department of posts, has signed an agreement with Wall Street Exchange, a company belonging to the Emirates Post Group of UAE, to launch its 'Instant Cash' global electronic money transfer service.

Secretary, department of posts P Gopinath announced the launch of the service this week by receiving the first payment from United Arab Emirates at a function organised by the department.

Under the agreement, the `instant cash' service will be made available across India, she said.

The service will be rolled out nationally in a phased manner and will be made available at approximately 17,500 post offices across India by next month.

Money transfers will be made through the International Financial System (IFS) of Universal Postal Union.

This tie-up will offer the Indian diaspora worldwide, especially in the Gulf region, a safe, secure and reliable money transfer service for their families back home.

This new service has its own significance as India is the largest recipient of remittances with over $70 billion annually, half of which comes from the Gulf (See: India to top global remittances chart with $71 billion inflows in 2013).

'Instant Cash' is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Emirates Post Group, and its services are available in 59 countries through more than 60,000 locations.

The company provides instant money transfer service, making money available to customers within minutes of completing a transaction.

India Post, the largest postal network in the world, has been undergoing continuous transformation to serve the needs of the people citizens.

It administers a network of 1,55,000 post offices in the country, of which more than 1,39,000 are in the rural areas.

Besides mail, it also provides various financial services like small savings instruments under Post Office Savings Bank and money remittance, both domestic and international.