Online fund transfer through NEFT and RTGS to be free from July 1, says RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday ordered banks to stop charging customers for online fund transfer through the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system from July 1.

In a communication to banks, the RBI said the decision had been taken to provide an impetus to digital funds movement.

“It has been decided that with effect from July 1, 2019, processing charges and time varying charges levied on banks by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for outward transactions undertaken using the RTGS system, as also the processing charges levied by RBI for transactions processed in NEFT system will be waived by the Reserve Bank,” the central bank said.

The RTGS system is primarily meant for high-value transactions. The minimum amount to be remitted through RTGS is Rs 2 lakh with no maximum limit. RTGS transactions, in contrast to NEFT transactions, are carried out in real time. Here the beneficiary bank receives the instruction to transfer funds immediately when customers issue the instructions and the transfer is instantaneous.