NEFT switch from today available 24×7. Test new timetables, restrictions and charges
When transferring money online from today, you don’t have to look at your watch or calendar as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) facility to be available 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. So far, only between 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and on those days when banks were open could you transfer money.NEFT transfers have now been divided into half-hourly batches with the settlement of the first batch starting after 12:30 am (after midnight) and the last batch ending at midnight.This NEFT timing cycle will run roundtheclock.Since the last NEFT payment batch will end at midnight, you may not be able to complete a transaction after 11:30 p.m. until the beginning of the next batch at 12:30 am the next day. RBI has decided to make NEFT money transfer facility available not only for 24 hours a day, but also on all days of the year, including holidays. So far, the NEFT facility was not available on bank holidays, and people had to wait for bank branches to open up even online money transfers. So far, NEFT transactions have been settled between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. On the first and third Saturdays, the settlement took place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. RBI will promote digital transactions in India. So far, IMPS facility has allowed 24×7 transfer of funds online, but had a limit of 2 lakhs. NEFT transactions made after banking hours will be automated using the’ Straight Through Processing (STP)’ method by the banks. The existing rule of crediting the beneficiary’s account or returning the transaction (within 2 hours of settlement of the respective batch) to originating bank will continue, RBI said. Banks are expected to send confirmation messages for all NEFT credits. RBI has asked banks to ensure that all required infrastructural specifications for the seamless NEFT 24×7 facility are available to their customers at their end. Many banks, such as the State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, do notcharge anything for electronic NEFT transactions. In July, RBI abolished all charges for the transfer of funds through NEFT and RTGS and also asked banks to pass on the benefits to customers. RBI also recommended that banks be required to make all electronic NEFT transactions free of charge for savings bank account customers from January 2020.There is no minimum NEFT transfer cap, but it is usually used for transfer of funds up to 2 lakhs.RTGS is used for highvaluetransactions. The total NEFT limits vary from bank to bank and also depend on the class of the customer.For example, ICICI Bank allows NEFT transfers up to 10 lakhsfor most customers but for others, NEFT transactions up to 25 lakhs may be required.
