Five things you should know about Electronic Clearance Service (ECS) mode of payment in LIC

ECS or Electronic Clearance Service is a comparatively newer mode of payment which is really convenient if the payment is periodic and repetitive in nature.

So naturally it has become one of the most accepted and popular payment mode for insurance policies also.

Advantages

• ECS Debit mandates will take care of automatic debit to customer accounts on the due dates without customers having to visit bank branches / collection centres of utility service providers etc.
• Customers need not keep track of due date for payments.
• The debits to customer accounts would be monitored by the ECS Users, and the customers alerted accordingly.
• Cost effective.

But to take the full advantage and convenience of ECS mode of payment, it is  better to know these five frequently asked questions (FAQs).

1. Is your bank Electronic Clearance Service complaint?

ECS mode of premium payment is more or less fully supported by scheduled and Nationalised banks through out India. But there are some banks which are still not supported as the bank is not member of any Regional-ECS centre. If you have any doubt regarding this, you can check it at RBI Site. Check the centre-wise list of bank branches participating in ECS at each location also in RBI Site.

2.What is the MICR Code of your Bank?

In order to initiate ECS facility the bank should have an MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) code.The MICR Code is a numeric code that uniquely identifies a bank-branch participating in the ECS Credit scheme. This is a 9 digit code to identify the location of the bank branch; the first 3 characters represent the city, the next 3 the bank and the last 3 the branch. The MICR Code allotted to a bank branch is printed on the MICR band of cheques issued by bank branches.

3.Mandate form for Electronic Clearance Service.

A mandate form has to be duly filled and submitted at your bank to enable ECS. Click here to Download ECS Mandate form for LIC of India. Remember to fill the Account Number, Premium including service tax if any, starting date of debit, last date of debit etc. and get it signed by account holder . A single mandate form will be sufficient even if you have more than one policy to activate debit. Bank may charge a one time signature verification charge at the time of mandated verification. Verified mandate has to be submitted at the LIC Branch office.

4. What is Mandate dishonour and what to do if mandate is dishonoured?

ECS mandate is dishonoured if the debit account does not have the required amount for debit in the debit date. Deduction will not automatically start even if the account has enough money to debit in the next debit date. Amount due with interest there on and ECS dishonour charge has to be paid at the LIC branch office to re enable the ECS Debit.

5. Which types of bank accounts are suitable for ECS Debit.

All the savings bank accounts  and current accounts are eligible for ECS debit. ECS debit can be activated from NR(E)Non Resident (External)and NR(O)Non Resident Ordinary accounts also. Banks which have IFSC code but not MICR code is not eligible for ECS debit.

Read More: Know all about Online and Offline mode of Premium Payment options available with LIC

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