Many of you may have used NEFT to send money before, but do you have the right information about what is NEFT? Because the rules of the bank keep changing day by day, it is very important to have updated information in all these topics.
Since online banking or internet banking has come, people’s going to banks has completely ended in a way, they now do all their work sitting at home. This does not cause much loss of their time and they work smoothly.
There are three main ways to transfer online funds which are NEFT, RTGS and IMPS. Out of these, today we will get detailed information about NEFT. So if we talk about NEFT, then it is a medium of sending money online through which we can easily send or receive money online from one account to another.
So today I thought why not get complete information about what NEFT is, how it works and what are the benefits of it. So without delay, let’s start and know about what NEFT is.
Table of Contents
What is NEFT?
NEFT is a method by which money can be sent to the account holder in another bank through any bank. The full form of NEFT is called National Electronics Fund Transfer.
It is a countrywide electronic fund transfer system whereby money is easily and securely sent or received from one bank account to another. NEFT to send money, NEFT to send money, NEFT to send money, NEFT to send money
All NEFT settlements are operated in batch-wise format. In this, money is sent through this system to all NEFT-enabled banks across India in an individual basis.
Before starting any NEFT transfer, it is very important to have the IFSC code of the bank, along with other details such as bank account number, bank branch, account holder name.
This fund transfer system is operated by the RBI. Which started in 2005. NEFT provides this facility to the customers of the bank in India so that the customer of the bank can easily transfer his capital to another NEFT enabled bank account. It is also very safe.
Fund transfers through the NEFT system are not on a real-time basis, but the transfer of money is fixed in a half-hour batch with 23 settlements taking place between 8:00 am and 7:30 pm on the first, third and fifth Saturdays of the NEFT week. Apart from this, there is no settlement on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, on Sundays or even on public holidays.
NEFT facility is mainly done in two types, one is offline mode which is done in the branches of banks and the other is online mode which is available to customers by online banking and is done in batches. NEFT to send money, NEFT to send money
NeFT is very popular due to its time saving and easy process as transactions can be done very easily by online banking. NEFT is slightly different from other measures such as RTGS and IMPS. Where your money sent to RTGS and IMPS is immediately credited to the front’s bank account. At the same time, in NEFT, your money is received by the front person only in the time-table set by the bank.
Time to transfer money from NEFT
As we told you above that you can not send money through NEFT 24 hours and throughout the week, it is not a 24*7 working service. You can transfer funds through NEFT within a certain period of time. NEFT to send money, NEFT to send money, NEFT to send money
Below we have told you about neft working hours and holiday days through a table. Read this list carefully so that you will not see any kind of discomfort in the future.
| Day | Working time of NEFT |
|---|---|
| Monday | 8 AM To 7 PM |
| Tuesday | 8 AM To 7 PM |
| Wednesday | 8 AM To 7 PM |
| Thursday | 8 AM To 7 PM |
| Friday | 8 AM To 7 PM |
| Saturday | 8 AM To 1 PM |
| Sunday | Off |
| Bank holiday | Off |
| Government holiday | Off |
| Month Second and fourth Saturday | Off |
Top banks that provide NEFT facility
Let’s know about all the top banks in India that provide NEFT facility:-
| ICICI NEFT | Central Bank of India NEFT |
| SBI NEFT | Bank of Baroda NEFT |
| Punjab National Bank (PNB) NEFT | Union Bank of India NEFT |
| HDFC NEFT | Axis Bank NEFT |
| Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) NEFT | Syndicate Bank NEFT |
What are the benefits of NEFT?
Now let’s know about the benefits of NEFT.
- Through NEFT, any firm, individual, corporation, etc. can easily send money from one account to another.
- Here the beneficiary customer (to whom money is sent) does not need to go to the bank branch to receive the fund nor do any kind of paper formalities have to be done.
- Fees are very low in NEFT.
- Funds can be transferred from anywhere, and anytime, using Internet banking. They are very safe and secure. And if for some reason your transaction is not completed, then you do not need to panic because in such a situation, your money is not lost anywhere but also goes back to the account sent.
- It is more useful for low value transactions.
- Here the receiver does not have to pay any additional cost.
- Here each batch is one hour.
Who can transfer funds through NEFT?
Any firm, individual, corporation can use NEFT to transfer funds from one bank account to another bank account, but the thing to note is that they should have a bank account in that bank branch and neft facility should also be enabled in that bank branch.
Apart from this, it is also not mandatory for you to have a bank account. Even if someone does not have a bank account in a bank branch and still wants to transfer funds through NEFT, then fund transfer can be done by filling the NEFT instruction slip. But to transfer funds in this way through NEFT, a maximum amount of Rs 50,0000 can be transferred in a transaction.
Who can receive funds through NEFT?
Individuals, firms, corporations that have a bank account in a bank branch can all receive funds sent through NEFT. But for this, it is mandatory for the beneficiary customer to have a bank account in the bank branch in which the NEFT facility is enabled/ available.
Timings of NEFT Transactions
As of now, NEFT works in hourly batches, so these service centers work between operational hours (8:00 AM to 7:00 PM in normal weekdays and from 8 am to 1 pm in Saturdays). NEFT to send money, NEFT to send money, NEFT to send money
It consists of 8 to 6 batches to work one after the other. So money is transferred from Monday to Saturdays (except 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month) from 8:00 AM to 6:30 PM. Apart from this, NEFT transactions are also not able to work in public and bank holidays. NEFT to send money, NEFT to send money, NEFT to send money
Public Holidays when NEFT transactions cannot be completed are Republic Day, Good Friday, Annual Closing of Banks, RBI’s Annual Closing of Accounts, Ramzan Id (Id-ul-Fitr)/Ratha Yatra, Independence Day, Dasara / Dasara/ Vijaya Dashami and Muharram.
Fees and Charges for NEFT Transfer
The thing to note here is that recipient banks do not charge you any fees for NEFT transactions. But for a sender, the sending bank charges them for NEFT transactions. You will find the following information about how much they charge.
| Transaction Amount | NEFT Charges |
| Amounts Up to 10000 | Rs 2.50 + Applicable GST |
| Amounts above Rs 10000 and up to Rs 1 lakh | Rs 5 + Applicable GST |
| Amounts above Rs 1 lakh and up to Rs 2 lakh | Rs 15 + Applicable GST |
| Amounts above Rs 2 lakh and up to Rs 5 lakh | Rs 25 + Applicable GST |
| Amounts above Rs 5 lakh and up to Rs 10 lakh | Rs 25 + Applicable GST |
Note: These charges change from time to time. So consult your bank before sending NEFT.
How does NEFT work?
Here I have tried to explain to you the generic process of NEFT transfer, but these nuances can vary in different banks, yet this process is almost the same. NEFT to send money, NEFT to send money
1. As I have already told you how you have to fill the form in details through online or offline mode, provide complete information about the beneficiary. With this, how do banks authorize it and process it further.
2. After this, your bank issues a message and then sends it to their NEFT Service Center.
3. NEFT forwards this message from your bank to the NEFT Clearing Center, which is operated by the National Clearing Cell and with it it is a part of the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai and it includes it in the next available branch of transaction.
4. After this, the NEFT Clearing Center sorts all the funds transfer transactions according to its banks and decorates those entries in such a way that the bank to which your money has to go is sorted very easily. NEFT Service Center then gets messages where they get all entries sorted, as well as messages about money from the NEFT Clearing Center, where they are instructed to send money to the recipient’s account.
What is the full form of NEFT?
NEFT is the full form of National Electronics Fund Transfer.
When was NEFT started?
NEFT was established in November 2005 by the Institute for Development and Research Banking Technology (IDRBT). NEFT is done by the Maintenance Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
NEFT FAQ
All fund transfer transactions are processed in batch-wise format and money is credited within 2 working days.
The answer is yes. Having an IFSC code is very important for any NEFT transaction.
NEFT is Hindi called “राष्ट्रीय इलेक्ट्रॉनिक निधि अन्तरण”.