Soon, you will be able to transfer money through National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) 24 hours of the day! The Reserve Bank of India today said that it NEFT will soon be available 24 hours as opposed to the current working hours on weekdays.
The revised NEFT timings will be effective from December this year, RBI announced in Friday’s Monetary Policy Meet.
The revised NEFT timings will be effective from December this year, RBI announced in Friday’s Monetary Policy Meet.
NEFT is RBI-controlled platform which facilitates interoperable payment for fund transfer by a customer between different accounts. Currently, NEFT available for customers from 8 am to 7 pm on all working days with the exception of second and fourth Saturdays of a month. It is used for fund transfers up to Rs 2 lakh.
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. Earlier in the June policy, the RBI had done away with charges on fund transfers through RTGS and NEFT routes to boost digital transactions and asked banks to pass on the benefits to customers. The Real-Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) is meant for large-value instantaneous fund transfers of Rs 2 lakh or above.
“In order to facilitate smooth settlement of these transactions in the accounts of the banks maintained with RBI, it has been decided that the Reserve Bank will extend the collateralised liquidity support, which is currently available till 7.45 pm on NEFT working days, round the clock,” said RBI.
It may be noted that RBI had announced its plan of making NEFT 24×7 in the Monetary Policy Meet held in August 2019.
Worth mentioning here is that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) led by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das decided to cut the repo rate for the fifth time in a row on Friday to give a further boost to consumption and private investment in a bid to revive growth. The apex bank cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.15% while keeping its stance accommodative.
"These decisions are in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4 per cent within a band of +/- 2 per cent while supporting growth," the apex bank said in a statement. With the reduction in repo rate, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands reduced to 4.90% and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 5.40%.
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