National Electronic Fund Transfer

National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) is an electronic funds transfer system maintained by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Started in November 2005, NEFT is a facility enabling bank customers in India to transfer funds between any two NEFT-enabled bank accounts on a one-to-one basis. It is done via electronic messages. Unlike Real-time gross settlement (RTGS), fund transfers through the NEFT system do not occur in real-time basis. NEFT settles fund transfers in half-hourly batches with 23 settlements occurring between 8:00 AM and 6:30 PM on week days and the 1st, 3rd and 5th Saturday of the calendar month. Transfers initiated outside this time period are settled at the next available window. No settlements are made on the second and fourth Saturday of the month, or on Sundays, or on public holidays.

NEFT facilities are available at 74,680 branches offices of 101 banks across the country (out of around 82,400 bank branches) as of January 2011, and well as online through the website of NEFT-enabled banks. and work on a batch mode. NEFT has gained popularity due to its saving on time and the ease with which the transactions can be concluded, This reflects from the fact that 42% of all electronic transactions in the 2008 financial year were NEFT transactions.

Detailed process NEFT is as follows

NEFT originally settled fund transfers in hourly batches with twelve settlements between 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM on week days. Settlements are closed on the second and fourth Saturday of the month. In April 2016, the RBI announced that clearance times would be reduced to half-hourly batches raising the number of settlements per day to 23.

Any transaction initiated after a designated settlement time would have to wait till the next designated settlement time. As of 2013, all transactions initiated before 5 PM will be settled on same day. No transactions are settled on weekly holidays and public holidays.

Transaction Timings for NEFT, Monday to Saturday (Except 2nd and 4th Saturday) is 8:00 AM to 6:30 PM. RTGS / NEFT is not allowed on Sundays, second and fourth Saturday of the month and the declared bank holidays for the calendar year. National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) is one of the most prominent electronic funds transfer system of India. Started in November 2005,[1] NEFT is a facility provided to bank customers to enable them to transfer funds easily and securely on a one-to-one basis. It is done via electronic messages. This is not on real-time basis like RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement). This is a "net" transfer facility which is executed in hourly batches resulting in a time lag. NEFT facilities are available in 30,000 bank branches all over the country and work on a batch mode.

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