Procedure For Sending Funds To Soldiers Overseas

Northern Advocate, 27 May 1940, Page 6

Procedure For Sending Funds To Soldiers Overseas

[Per Press Association. Copyright ] WELLINGTON, This Day. The Minister for Finance (Mr Nash) today announced the procedure to be followed in remitting money to members of the New Zealand forces overseas. Such remittances may be made, subject to payment of exchange at the current rate through the military authorities up to a total of £2O (N.Z. currency) for each member per year. Remittances must be in multiples of £l. Friends and relatives wishing to make such payments should pay the money to the. public account at any branch of the Bank of New Zealand, and forward the receipt to the Director of Pay Accounts and Base Records in Wellington, together with the army number and full name of the member to whom the money is to be remitted. The overseas paymaster will then be authorised by cable to pay the amount to the individual concerned. Soldiers May Cable Direct A member of the forces overseas requiring money to be remitted, should apply through the overseas paymaster, who will cable particulars to New Zealand. If the soldier’s request is for money to be remitted by a friend or relative, the Director of Pay Accounts will advise them accordingly, on receipt of the cable, and they can lodge the money in the manner indicated. A soldier may, however, cable direct, to his friends or relatives to remit money, in which case the friend or relative will pay the money to the public account at the nearest branch of the Bank of New Zealand, and forward the bank receipts, together with the soldier’s army number and full name, to the Director of Pay Accounts in Wellington, who will cable the remittance. Savings Bank Accounts. Should a soldier require money to be remitted from his Post Office Savings Bank account, to which allotments of his pay are being deposited, the Director of Pay Accounts and Base Records, Wellington, will, upon receipt of a cable from overseas, arrange for the money to be withdrawn from the savings bank account and paid to the public account.

Cabled advice will then be sent to the overseas paymaster, authorising payment to the individual concerned. It will be necessary to make a nominal charge of 5/- to cover the cost of cabling remittances. This should be included in the payments to the public account. Should a friend or relative desire to remit money to a soldier overseas by letter, the. amount will be paid to the public account at the nearest branch of the Bank of New Zealand.

The bank receipt, together with the soldier’s name and number, indicating that the remittance is to be made by letter, will be forwarded to the director of pay accounts, who will advise the overseas paymaster by letter to make the payment. Money by Letter Where a soldier overseas desires a friend or relative to remit money to him by letter, he will communicate with the friend or relative direct. The latter will then follow the same procedure as above. Should a soldier overseas desire a remittance to be made to him by mail from hi's Post Office Savings Bank account he will make the necessary request to the overseas paymaster, who will mail the particulars to New Zealand. To Avoid Delays. On receipt of this advice the Director of Pay Accounts and Base Records will arrange for the required amounts to be withdrawn from the soldier’s Post Office Savings Bank account and forwarded by mail to the overseas paymaster for payment to the soldier concerned. These arrangements, Mr Nash explained, are intended to obviate the delays necessarily associated with the ordinary remittance system, and should prove of convenience to all concerned. The limit of £2O from all sources, he said, might appear small, but when it was realised that if all those who are entitled to do so took advantage of the facilities, a charge on sterling funds to the extent of some hundreds of thousand pounds would be involved, the necessity for the limitation would be appreciated. In view of this, and in fairness to all concerned, remittances to members of the forces would be permitted only through, these channels.