Meaning & usage of NEFT / RTGS / IMPS

NEFT- National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) is a national payment system that helps us to transfer money from one bank account to another. It is a mode of online money transfer that was introduced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In order to transfer money online, your bank account must be NEFT- enabled.

• TIMINGS: Fund transfers can be made on a 24x7 basis. NEFT fund transfer can be made from ₹1.
• TRANSACTION LIMIT: RBI has not set any maximum limit for online transfers. Banks, however, can set their own limits on the bank account holders.

RTGS- Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) is the method of transferring large amounts of money from one bank account to another.

‘Real Time’ means the instructions are processed whenever it is received.

‘Gross Settlement’ means that the instruction of fund transfer takes place individually.

• TIMINGS: Earlier fund transfer using RTGS mode is not available 24x7. The window is available to banks from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on a working day, for settlement at the RBI end. Now, RBI has announced that from Dec 2020, RTGS will be available 24x7. 
• TRANSACTION LIMIT:  As per RBI, the minimum amount that can be transferred is ₹2 lakhs and there is no maximum limit.

IMPS- Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) is a real-time online payment mode to transfer money from one bank account to another. IMPS is the mix of both RTGS and NEFT.

• TIMINGS: Fund transfers can be made on a 24x7 basis.
• TRANSACTION LIMIT: IMPS can be used to transfer a maximum amount up to ₹2 lakhs, instantly.