The national electronic funds transfer (NEFT) is a method of online money transfer introduced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It transfers funds between banks in a fast and safe manner throughout the country. A bank branch needs to be NEFT enabled to carry out transactions. It’s time saving as you don’t require to write cheques, challans or withdrawal forms.
NEFT is one of the major fund transfer processes in India today.
How to Make a NEFT Transfer In 2023
The following are the steps you need to follow to transfer funds from one bank account to another.
Step 1: Log into your bank account through your internet banking page.
Step 2: Choose the fund transfer option that pops up on your banking home page.
Step 3: Now, select the NEFT option that pops up on the funds’ transfer page.
Step 4: Choose from the list the name of the beneficiary to transfer funds to his account.
Step 5: If the beneficiary is new, click on the “Add Beneficiary” option and then you need to enter the details that include the receiver’s name, bank branch, account number, type of account and Indian financial system code (IFSC).
Step 6: Recheck the entered details and confirm.
Step 7: You will then receive a one-time password (OTP) on your bank-registered mobile number to confirm the beneficiary addition you just made.
Step 8: After the recommended time, the beneficiary will be ready for transfer.
Step 9: Lastly, choose the beneficiary, select the bank account from which you desire to send the money and enter the amount to transfer.
Step 10: Click on the “Confirm” button and you’re good to go. The money will be transferred shortly.
Benefits of NEFT
- 24×7 availability throughout the year including holidays.
- Quick and safe fund transfer.
- There are no RBI-imposed charges from banks.
- You can easily pay your credit card bills, equated monthly installments (EMI) and make payments to another bank account.
- NEFT service is available pan India.
- Customers opting for online transactions through their savings account require no extra fee for the transaction.
- It’s convenient as it can be done enjoying the comfort of your home via net and mobile banking.
- Once the beneficiary receives the money the remitter gets a credit confirmation through SMS or email.
- Low-cost mode of money transfer.
NEFT Charges and Fees
The inward transactions are free of cost and apply no charges to the beneficiaries. On the other hand, outward transactions initiated by the bank branches charge the remitter for every transaction.
Let us see the amounts and charges applicable to them.
- INR 2.5+ GST on transactions up to INR 10,000
- INR 5+ GST on transactions between INR 10,000 and INR 1 lakh
- INR 15+ GST on transactions between INR 1 lakh and INR 2 lakh
- INR 25+ GST on the transaction above INR 2 lakh
NEFT Inward
The RBI’s website describes the process of NEFT as a mode of one to one funds transfer. Funds are transferred electronically from one bank branch to another account. If an individual does not have a bank account, the cash can be deposited using the NEFT facility. The transaction will be restricted to a maximum of INR 50,000 on every transaction.
The NEFT system can be done every half an hour under the settlement of money transfer requests and run from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m regularly on every working day except second and fourth Saturdays of every month. The receiver will receive the amount within two business hours for the NEFT transactions.
NEFT Transfer Offline
NEFT transfers can be done offline by just filling a form in your bank’s branch. Once all the details are filled the form is handed over to the banking official. The remitter needs to add his and the beneficiary details of the beneficiary. The details include account number, IFSC code, account name, bank name, branch name and account type of both the remitter and beneficiary. If the transaction is over INR 50,000, the remitter has to provide the PAN card at the time of the transaction.
How to Track NEFT Transactions
The NEFT transaction can be tracked by getting in touch with the respective bank’s NEFT customer facilitation center (CFC). The details are available on the bank’s website too. If the remitter desires to track the transaction fast, the customer needs to provide details to the respective banks like unique transaction reference (UTR) number, date of transaction, reference number, etc.
NEFT Timings
NEFT is available 24×7 hours of the year. The RBI even regularized the transactions to be available on the days of holidays. After the banking hours, the transactions are carried out using Straight Through Processing (STP) modes and are expected to be automated transactions by the banks.
NEFT Transaction Limit
You can initiate a transfer starting from INR 1 as the minimum NEFT transaction limit. The maximum goes up to INR 50,000 per transaction. There’s no said limit on the per day transactions, you can transfer as much as you want a day but some banks have set their upper limit like HDFC Bank with INR 25 lakh per day via NEFT online.
Bottom Line
NEFT has made it easy for people to carry out transactions in an easy and effective way without worrying about the transaction limit or standing in a long queue during banking hours to make a transaction.