10.10.20

Banks’ RTGS Facility to Go 24x7 from December

In a move set to benefit businesses that transfer high value payments, the RTGS channels operated by banks will be functional 24X7 around the calendar from later this year.

“In order to facilitate swift and seamless payments in real time for domestic businesses and institutions, it has been decided to make available the RTGS system round the clock on all days from December 2020,” central bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said during his Monetary Policy Committee address.

“In December 2019, the RBI made available the NEFT system on a 24x7x365 basis and the system has been operating smoothly since then,” he said. India will be among the few countries globally that have enabled large ticket payments round the clock.

Currently, there are two major channels for large ticket transactions: National Electronic Fund Transfer  and Real Time Gross Settlement. Both are controlled interoperable payment channels used for fund transfer by entities between different accounts.

While NEFT transactions are done in time batches, which cause slight delays in payments, RTGS transactions are instantaneous.

However, while NEFT doesn’t have any minimum transaction limit, RTGS can only be used for high value transactions with a minimum limit of ₹2 lakh.

The RTGS system is currently available for customers from 7 am to 6 pm on all working days of a week.

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