COIMBATORE: Several customers of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) in the city are being forced to visit post offices to withdraw money, due to an alleged delay in the issuance of debit cards by the Department of Post. The issue, seemingly faced by new customers and those seeking debit card renewals alike, has made a few of them turn to other nationalised banks.
A retired employee of the postal department in Coimbatore, seeking anonymity, told TNIE that the validity of his IPPB debit card ended in October. When reached out to the bank for debit card renewal, he claimed an employee said it would take a few months for them to receive the payment card from Bengaluru. “When asked about an alternative, an employee told me to transfer the amount via internet banking to the account of a different bank, and then withdraw cash from the ATM of that respective bank,” he said.
As he did not know how to use internet banking, he said he had been forced to visit the post office in the city every time and wait for at least half an hour to collect the cash. The retired employee is yet to receive the renewed debit card.
P Sathish from Coimbatore, another IPPB customer, told TNIE that after he had heard about the debit card delay, he opted to not renew his payment card. “Due to the poor service, I have stopped using my IPPB account, rather I have been using the services of a different nationalised bank,” he said.
Official sources said that despite reminders from the Tamil Nadu postal circle officials, the head post offices have not been issuing the debit cards on time. “The issue has been going on for several months here. Besides, customers from other states are are also facing the debit card issue,” sources said.
Despite repeated attempts, TNIE could not reach the top postal department officials of the western region in Coimbatore.