NEFT transactions to be available 24x7 from Dec 16

Mumbai: In a bid to promote digital transactions, the RBI on Friday said round-the-clock transactions will be allowed under the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system from December 16. The 24X7 NEFT system will be available on all days of the year, including holidays, it added.

NEFT transactions are settled in hourly batches. For weekdays, the batches are from 8 am to 7 pm. On first and third Saturdays, the settlement happens from 8 am to 1 pm.

In a notification, the central bank said it has been decided that the facility on NEFT system shall be made available from December 16, 2019 on 24X7 basis. The first settlement will take place after 00:30 hours on December 16, 2019 (night of December 15, 2019).

The RBI has asked the member banks to keep adequate liquidity in their current account with the regulator at all times to facilitate successful posting of NEFT batch settlements.

NEFT transactions after usual banking hours are expected to be automated transactions initiated using 'Straight Through Processing (STP)' modes by the banks. The existing discipline for crediting beneficiary's account or returning the transaction (within 2 hours of settlement of the respective batch) to originating bank will continue, it added.