68 AUSTRIA - CREDIT 



favour of the creditor, who, instead of asking the Post Office to cash it, has 

 the amount deducted from the debtor's account credited to his own (i). 



To obtain a right to these advantages, once his appUcation for a 

 postal cheque and clearing account has been granted, the apphcant must 

 make an initial deposit of lOO crowns, as otherwise he will forfeit liis rights. 



Deposits in cheque accounts are made as follows : 



(a) by means of certificates of pa5aaients (Erlagscheine) ; 



(b) by means of postal orders (Postanweisungen) ; 



(c) by crediting a current account with amounts of cheques drawn by 

 other persons possessing accounts ; 



{d) by crediting it with the amounts the Post Office collects for the 

 owner of the account. 



Clauses (a) (6) and (d) indicate real pavment of cash, while (c) refers 

 to transfers of credit from one account to another {clearing) . 



In regard to (a) : by means of the certificate of payment, deposits may 

 be made by any one in behalf of the owner of an account and this is the 

 ordinary way in which credits are increased. 



No maximum has been fixed for the amounts that may be deposited 

 in this way. 



In regard to (b) : the holder of an account may apply to the postal 

 office through which he receives his correspondence to have the postal 

 orders addressed to him, except those sent by telegraph or express, cred- 

 ited to his account instead of paid to him in cash. Every owner of a cur- 

 rent account is free to forward the postal orders he receives from third 

 parties directly to the Postal Savings Bank Office, with indication of his 

 account or his name as under : 



To the I. R. Postal Savings Bank Office {to the credit of A. B's account 

 No...) Vienna. 



The o\^'ner of the account may also request that the amounts he receives 

 by mone}'' and postal orders (Postauftrags- und Nachnahmebetrage) be 

 placed directh' to his cheque account. 



The same course is taken in the case of other amounts recovered 

 through the post office. 



In regard to {d) : the proceeds from sale of Government securities, col- 

 lection or exchange, made by the postal savings banks on behalf of those 

 who have accounts with them, are on request credited to the cheque accounts. 



In regard to (c) : payment by transfer of credit is a real payment on the 

 part of the owner of the account debited and, on the other hand, a payment 

 by endorsement in the case of the holder of the account credited. 



Before speaking more at large of this class of payment, let us say a 

 few words in regard to the postal cheque. 



The holder of a current account draws postal cheques on it. These 

 are written orders to the management to pay definite amounts out of his 

 account either to him or to third parties. 



(i) Cfr. the article bj' Dr. U. GiuD.'V: "// Servizio postale di checks c cletinw:: " in Rivista 

 delle Comitnicazioni, January, 1912 page 22. Rouie. Ministcro dclk Poste e Telegrafi. 



