RBI to make available NEFT on a 24x7 basis from December 2019

Kolkata: Come December and you can transfer funds through NEFT —National Electronic Funds Transfer— round the clock. At present, NEFT, operated by the RBI as a retail payment system, is available for customers from 8 am to 7 pm on all working days with the exception of second and fourth Saturdays of a month.

The move aims at giving a further boost to digital transactions. "It is expected to revolutionise the retail payments system of the country," the Reserve Bank of India said.

Earlier, in its Payment System Vision 2021 document, the RBI had said that it will make available the NEFT system on a 24x7 basis from December 2019.

The NEFT system is used for fund transfers up to Rs 2 lakh.

The apex bank, in its June monetary policy, had done away with charges on fund transfers through RTGS (The Real Time Gross Settlement System), which is meant for large-value instantaneous fund transfers, and NEFT routes to boost digital transactions.

That’s not all. The RBI has also set up a committee under the Chief Executive Officer of Indian Banks' Association to examine the entire gamut of ATM charges and fees.