Q.1. What is NEFT System?
Ans National
Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system is a nation wide funds transfer system
to facilitate transfer of funds from any bank branch to any other bank branch.
Q. 2. Are all bank
branches in the system part of the funds transfer network?
Ans
No. As on January 31, 2007, 18500 branches of 53 banks are
participating. Steps are being taken to widen the coverage both in terms of
banks and branches
.
Q.3. Whether the
system is centre specific or has any geographical restriction?
Ans No, there is no restriction in the number of centres or of any
geographical area. The system uses the concept of centralised accounting system
and the bank's account that are sending or receiving the funds transfer
instructions, gets operated at one centre, viz, Mumbai only. The individual branches
participating in NEFT could be located anywhere across the country, as detailed
in the list provided on RBI website.
Q.4. What is the funds availability schedule
for the beneficiary?
Ans The beneficiary gets the credit on the same Day or the next Day
depending on the time of settlement.
Q.5. How does the NEFT system operate?
Ans :Step-1: The remitter fills in
the NEFT Application form giving the particulars of the beneficiary
(bank-branch, beneficiary's name, account type and account number) and
authorises the branch to remit the specified amount to the beneficiary by
raising a debit to the remitter's account. (This can also be done by using net
banking services offered by some of the banks)
Step-2: The remitting branch prepares a Structured Financial
Messaging Solution (SFMS) message and sends it to its Service Centre for NEFT.
Step-3: The Service Centre forwards the same to the local
RBI (National Clearing Cell, Mumbai) to be included for the next available
settlement. Presently, NEFT is settled in six batches at 0930, 1030, 1200,
1300, 1500 and 1600 hours on weekdays and 0930, 1030 and 1200 hours on
Saturdays
Step-4: The RBI at the clearing centre sorts the
transactions bank-wise and prepares accounting entries of net debit or credit
for passing on to the banks participating in the system. Thereafter, bank-wise
remittance messages are transmitted to banks.
Step-5: The receiving banks process the remittance messages
received from RBI and affect the credit to the beneficiaries' accounts.
Q.6. How is this
NEFT System an improvement over the existing RBI-EFT System?
Ans The RBI-EFT system is confined to the 15 centres where RBI is
providing the facility, whereas there is no such restriction in NEFT as it is
based on the centralised concept. The detailed list of branches of various
banks participating in NEFT system is available on our website. The system also
uses the state-of-the-art technology for the communication, security etc, and
thereby offers better customer service.
Q.7.
How is it different from RTGS and EFT?
Ans: NEFT is an electronic payment system to transfer funds from any
part of country to any other part of the country and works on net settlement
basis, unlike RTGS that works on gross settlement basis. While EFT is
restricted to the fifteen centers (only where RBI offices are located), NEFT is
a nation-wide electronic fund transfer system.
Q.8. Any limit on the amount of individual
transaction?
Ans There
is no value limit for individual transactions.
Q.9. What about Processing Charges/Service
Charges
Ans While RBI has waived the processing charges till March 31, 2008,
levy of service charges by banks is left to the discretion of the respective
banks. The bank-wise details of charges levied are available on the RBI
website.
Q.10.
How will I know which are the branches participating in the NEFT?
Ans RBI publishes the list of bank branches participating in the NEFT
on its website i.e. www.rbi.org.in .
Q.11. What is IFS Code (IFSC)? How it is different
from MICR code?
Ans Indian
Financial System Code (IFSC) is an alpha numeric code designed to uniquely
identify the bank-branches in India. This is 11 digit code with first 4
characters representing the banks code, the next character reserved as control
character (Presently 0 appears in the fifth position) and remaining 6
characters to identify the branch. The MICR code has 9 digits to identify the
bank-branch.
Q.12.
How will I know, what is the IFS Code of
my bank-branch?
Ans RBI had since advised all the banks to print IFSC on cheques
leaves issued to their customers. You may also contact your bank-branch and get
the IFS Code of that branch.
Q.13. Whom I can
contact, in case of non-credit or delay in credit to the beneficiary account?
Ans Contact your bank / branch. If the issue is not resolved
satisfactorily, the Customer Service Department of RBI may be contacted on cgmcsd@rbi.org.in
or write to -
The Chief
General Manager,
Reserve Bank
of India,
Customer
Service Department,
1st
Floor, Amar Building, Fort,
Mumbai-400001
Q.14. Is it
necessary to have a bank account to originate the NEFT transaction?
Ans Yes, NEFT is an account to account funds transfer system.
Q.15. Is it necessary
that the beneficiary should have an account at the destination bank-branch?
Ans Yes, NEFT is an account to account funds transfer system.
Q.16. Can I receive foreign remittances through
NEFT?
Ans This
system can be used only for remitting Indian Rupee among the participating
banks within the country.
Q.17. Can I send remittances abroad using the
NEFT?
Ans No
Q.18. Can I
originate a transaction to receive funds from another account?
Ans No
Q.19.
Can I send/receive funds from/to NRI
accounts?
Ans: Yes, subject to applicability of provisions of FEMA
Q.20. Would the
remitting customer receive an acknowledgement of money having been credited to
the beneficiary's account?
Ans: Acknowledgement is generated for the customer at his branch informing
him that his remittance is received by the beneficiary. However the mode of
communication would depend on the facility provided by bank / branch.
Q.21. Would the
remitting customer get back the money if it is not credited to the
beneficiary’s account?
Ans: Yes, the remitting customer gets back the money if it is not
credited to the beneficiary account.
Q.22. Till what time NEFT service window is
available?
Ans: There are six settlements at 0930, 1030, 1200, 1300, 1500 and 1600
hours on weekdays and 0930, 1030 and 1200 hours on Saturdays.
Q.23. What is the
essential information that the remitting customer would have to furnish for the
remittance to be effected?
Ans: The essential information that the remitting customer has to
furnish is:
·
Beneficiary details such as beneficiary
name and account number
·
Name and IFSC of the beneficiary bank
branch.
Q.24. Is there any
way a remitting customer can track the remittance transaction?
Ans: The remitting customer can track the remitting transaction through
the remitting branch only, as the remitting branch is informed about the status
of the remitted transactions.
SOURCE:-www.iba.org.in/faqs-rtgs-neft-ecs.doc
SOURCE:-www.iba.org.in/faqs-rtgs-neft-ecs.doc