Financial Service
The Financial Service started in the 1980s as an attempt to do away with physical money circulation in Auroville by keeping accounts of the cash holdings of Aurovilians. Since then, nearly all internal transactions between units and Aurovilians have been done through electronic transfers using these accounts. Auroville was pioneering digital payments decades before UPI came to India. The Financial Service is the shorthand name that Aurovilians use for the Auroville Maintenance Fund, but they are actually identical.
The AVMF is concerned with Auroville's internally generated income and distribution of money, as opposed to donations from outside (which are handled by the Auroville Unity Fund). The administrative aim is to collect monthly contributions from Auroville businesses or commercial units, projects, guest houses and individuals, and process the distribution of these, mainly through the City Services, which disburses monthly payments according to the budgetary requirements of each service unit.
One of the key roles of the Financial Service is in bringing transparency, and bringing together the finances within Auroville all in one place while keeping intact the freedom of the individuals and the units.
The Financial Service/AVMF can also buy and sell foreign currency, travellers' cheques, and encash personal cheques. All its activities are computerised and linked with the PT Purchasing Service outlets as well as a wide range of other Auroville units so that all financial transactions (such as payment for gas bottles, water, electricity and telephone charges as well as grocery and restaurant bills), are transparent and can be done without any internal exchange of cash.
All transactions pertaining to guests' accommodation and other expenses are carried out in a similar way through the Aurocard service. These special "safe" cards are distributed by the various guesthouses and the Financial Service for registered guests of Auroville. (See also Aurocards)
Get in Touch
Located at the Town Hall: +91-413-2623648;
Branch Office: Adjacent to the PT purchasing service facility in Aspiration: +91-413-2622171
