Co-founder of Affari Miei
January 12, 2024
The offers of postal savings bonds have become very varied over the years and today we are dealing with one of the newest ways to access this type of investment instrument: the BFP 3X4.
The 3×4 postal interest-bearing bonds are an investment and also customer loyalty tool that Poste Italiane offers, but only to those who are customers and under certain conditions (we will see it later), at particularly advantageous conditions.
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Who can subscribe to 3×4 postal savings bonds?
3×4 BFPs can only be made out to natural persons and adults, and must be connected to a postal current account or a postal savings book, of which they bear the name. In order to identify potential recipients of the 3x4s, both paper and dematerialized vouchers are valid.
The sums in question can be reinvested in the new instrument, under conditions which, as we will see very shortly, are truly extremely advantageous.
Let’s continue reading and discover together how this financial instrument works.
How 3×4 Interest-bearing Coupons work
These are BFPs which have a total duration of 12 years and which accrue interest every three years, i.e. in the third year, the sixth, the ninth and finally the twelfth year.
As is the case with all other savings bonds issued by the Post Office, 3×4 savings bonds offer a return of the invested capital at any time: this is a measure that makes this investment extremely safe, even if no type of interest matures before the three-year period. of interest and therefore we will be entitled to obtain only the money we invested for the purchase of the security.
What interests does it offer?
In the past, the 3×4 postal coupons offered very interesting rates, even if the placement has been suspended since January 2016.
At the moment we can remember the returns of the best moments:
for the first three yearsthe saver was offered a rate of 1.25%, gross per year, from which taxes must therefore be subtracted;
for the second three-year periodthe saver was offered a rate of 1.75% per year, always gross;
For the third three-year period instead a rate of 2.00% per annum was offered;
For the last three years the rate applied was 2.50%.
These are, and you can see for yourself by comparing this offer with the others from the Post Office, particularly advantageous rates, which with the interest rates in the Euro area having been brought to the minimum (and therefore with the extreme difficulty of collecting interest substantial even through other investment methods), rates that arouse the interest even of those who tend not to turn to the postal savings certificate market.
However, as mentioned, the golden times are gone and many of our ideas are contained in this reflection on investments in BFP.
How can 3×4 BFPs be subscribed to?
As with all other postal savings bonds, 3x4s can be subscribed to either online or at any post office.
3×4 postal savings bonds: are they really worth it?
These investment instruments can be convenient if you have the possibility of tying up the money for that number of years, i.e. 12 years, in order to receive the maximum interest.
We live, and it is always good to remember this when analyzing investment tools, in this particular historical moment, in a particularly unfavorable situation for savers.
The rates in the Euro area are at historic lows and even the old safe instruments, such as deposit accounts and Treasury bills, now offer such low returns as to make the investment extremely unprofitable.
Of course, even the rates offered by the 3×4 BFP were anything but stratospheric, but given the possibility of investing your capital in an absolutely safe way, they are more than adequate.
Which saver profile were they designed for?
The 3×4 postal savings bonds were designed for savers who already have a certain familiarity with postal savings certificates and who have a low risk profile and are looking for so-called safe investments.
The capital that is invested is in fact guaranteed and insured and is therefore available, upon simple request, throughout the entire duration of the investment.
Anyone who invests in BFP 3×4 is a saver who does not want to take many risks and who is content, like it or not, with receiving low interest rates, preferring the safety of their capital.
It is a tool designed for families and which guarantees practically everyone, even those who are not very familiar with investment tools, to earn something with their savings.
Useful resources for further information
We say goodbye and refer you, for further information, to a series of other articles on postal products on Affari Miei:
and a series of other useful contents for you:
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