24x7 fund transfers under NEFT from Dec 2019 to boost digital payments
With a view to boost digital payments, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will allow the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) payment system to operate on a 24x7 basis from December 2019. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the move was expected to revolutionise the retail payments system of the country. At present, the facility of NEFT — usually preferred for fund transfers of less than Rs 2 lakh — is available between 8 am and 7 pm on all working days, except the second and fourth Saturdays of every month. According to Mrutyunjay Mahapatra, managing director and chief executive of Syndicate Bank, the new process might require a standard operating procedure, which can be prescribed by the regulator, for seamless clearing and settlement of fund transfers among banks. “ Banks will need to tweak their back-end system. At present, they get a closure window between 11 pm and 4 am, for NEFT transactions. This process might involve a little higher operating cost,” said a senio