National electronic funds transfer (NEFT) and real-time gross settlement (RTGS) allow individuals, companies and companies to transfer funds from one bank to another. You can check the RBI website for a list of your bank branches with NEFT and RTGS. These facilities can only be used to transfer money within the country. To opt for these, you must fill out a form that gives you the information of your or the beneficiary: name, bank branch where the account is held, Indian Financial System Code, a unique code to identify the branch and the number and type of account. You must send a check while opting for this facility. You can also transfer funds through the net banking. These are third party transfers and the option is available under the same heading on your net banking home page.
There is no ceiling in the minimum or maximum amount that can be transferred through NEFT. You can even transfer Re 1. However, you must transfer a minimum of Rs 2 lakh through the RTGS service. However, there is no limit on the maximum amount. However, banks can restrict the amount they can transfer in one day. For example, HDFC Bank allows you to transfer a maximum of Rs 10 lakh per day.
According to RBI, banks can not charge any fees for internal remittances or for receipt of funds. However, it has limited the charges for external transfers through NEFT and RTGS. For transfers through the first, you must pay around Rs 5-25, depending on the amount. Banks can not charge more than Rs 5 for any transfer up to Rs 1 lakh, Rs 15 for Rs 1-2 lakh and Rs 25 for those above Rs 2 lakh. In RTGS, you must pay Rs 25 for Rs 2-5 lakh and Rs 50 for anything above Rs 5 lakh.
NEFT operates on a net deferred settlement basis (DNS) and establishes batch transactions. Settlement takes place with all transactions received up to a particular cut-off time. Operates in batches per hour: there are 11 agreements of 9 a.m. at 7 p.m. from Monday to Friday and five between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturdays. Any transaction initiated after the designated time would have to wait until the next settlement time. In RTGS, transactions are processed continuously throughout business hours. The settlement time of RBI is 9 a.m. at 4:30 p.m. from Monday to Friday and from 9 a.m. at 1:30 p.m. Saturdays. Banks can operate within this time frame or change it. Here, the transfers made are fast and can be useful in emergencies.