One-to-one fund transfers are facilitated by NEFT or National Electronic Fund Transfer. Using the payment mode, companies, firms, corporations, and individuals can electronically transfer funds within the country. A bank must be a member of the NEFT network to participate in an NEFT transaction. Knowing the NEFT transfer timings are therefore crucial before making any NEFT transfer. Here’s the Top Banks in India’s NEFT transaction time
Who can use NEFT ?
- The NEFT system can be used by individuals, corporations, firms and companies with bank accounts.
- A bank must be a member of the network to participate.
- You can easily transfer funds using NEFT if your bank supports it.
- The only thing you need to do is enable internet banking for your bank account.
- You need to know the bank account information, contact information, and IFSC code of the recipient to use NEFT.
How do NEFT transactions work ?
Mentioned below is how NEFT transactions work.
- The beneficiary’s details must be filled out on an NEFT form.
- IFSC code of the branch where the beneficiary has their account, the name of the beneficiary, the account number, and the amount to be transferred.
- Your bank will debit the mentioned amount from your account and pass it along to the beneficiary after receiving these details.
- Internally, your bank will send a message to the NEFT Service Centre or Pooling Centre once you request the transfer.
- NEFT Clearing Centre receives the message from the pooling centre.
- NEFT Clearing Centre is managed by the Reserve Bank of India’s National Clearing Cell.
- The orders are then arranged according to the destination bank. Additionally, it accounts for the sending and receiving banks.
- By using the NEFT Service Centre or the pooling centre, messages are forwarded to the destination bank.
- The funds are then transferred to the beneficiary’s account as soon as the destination bank receives the message.
- NEFT timings and a maximum amount of Rs. 50,000 per transaction (for all card-based transfers) are the downsides.
What are the benefits of NEFT ?
Benefits of NEFT include:
- NEFT is an economical method of transferring money.
- NEFT is based on a secure platform.
- You do not need to use a check or a demand draft (DD) to transfer money.
- You do not need to visit the bank to transfer money.
- An online funds transfer is possible.
- Transferring data can be done more quickly and conveniently.
What are NEFT charges ?
No NEFT charges are levied when you transfer money online or use the mobile banking facility. But, NEFT charges are levied in case you initiate a fund transfer.
- For money transfers of upto Rs 10,000, you will be charged maximum of Rs 2.50 + GST
- For money transfers of above Rs 10,000 and less than Rs 1,00,000, you will be charged maximum of Rs 5 + GST
- For money transfers of above Rs 100,000 and less than Rs 2,00,000, you will be charged maximum of Rs 15 + GST
- For money transfers of above Rs 2,00,000, you will be charged Rs 25 + GST
Note that while this is broad fee chart, NEFT charges differ between banks and you should check with your respective bank before initiating a fund transfer.
How to transfer money using NEFT ?
You can transfer money using NEFT using both online and offline method.
Online method
- Login to your net banking account using your customer id and password
- You will be led to the main page where you will see ‘fund transfer’. Click on it.
- Choose NEFT from the various options
- Next select the beneficiary to whom you want to transfer money. If the beneficiary doesn’t exist in your account, add them.
- For adding beneficiary details, click on add and enter their details like name, account number, IFSC code etc and click on ‘add’.
- An OTP will be sent to reinstate that you have added the beneficiary. While previously it used to take 24 hours for a beneficiary to be added, now it takes less than 30 minutes.
- Once added, select the beneficiary, enter the amount to be transferred and confirm and the amount will be transferred from your account.
Offline
You can do an NEFT transfer offline by filling an NEFT form in your bank’s branch. Details in the form will include your details including account name, account number, IFSC code, bank name, branch name and type of account. Similar details have to be filled for the beneficiary as well. Note that any NEFT transaction above Rs 50,000 will require you to provide your PAN card during transfer of money through NEFT.
How to pay credit card bills using NEFT ?
To pay credit card bills using NEFT, login to your internet banking facility using your customer id and password
On the main page, click on ‘funds transfer’. If not already added, add your credit card as ‘beneficiary’. Enter your credit card number, transaction code, IFSC code. Once added you can do an NEFT transfer and pay your credit card bill.
What are NEFT transfer timings ?
To facilitate transactions from one bank account to another at your convenience, most banks today offer NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer). To comply with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulations, all such transactions must be conducted within the set NEFT time frame. NEFT timings for online transactions now cover 24 hours, seven days a week, including Saturdays, Sundays, and bank holidays, according to the revised guidelines that took effect in December 2019. Following the closing of branch banking hours, NEFT transactions are processed automatically via ‘Straight Through Processing (STP)’.
NEFT transaction time for top banks in India
| Bank | NEFT Timings on Weekdays (Monday-Friday) | NEFT Timings on Saturday |
| Axis Bank | 8 am to 4:30 pm | 8 am to 4:30 pm |
| Bank of Baroda | 9 am to 6:45 pm | 9 am to 6:45 pm |
| Citibank | 8 am to 7 pm | 8 am to 1 pm |
| HDFC Bank | 8 am to 6:30 pm | 8 am to 6:30 pm |
| ICICI Bank | 8 am to 6:30 pm | 8 am to 6:30 pm |
| Kotak Mahindra Bank | 8 am to 6 pm | 8 am to 12 pm |
| Punjab National Bank | 8 am to 7 pm | 8 am to 1 pm |
| State Bank of India | 8 am to 7 pm | 8 am to 1 pm |
| Union Bank of India | 8 am to 6:30 pm | 8 am to 6:30 pm |
| Yes Bank | 8 am to 7 pm | 8 am to 1 pm |
Even though NEFT transactions can be requested throughout the 24-hour service time, they are processed in batches. The NEFT batch timing is divided into 30 minutes increments, resulting in 48 half-hourly batches per day. The first batch of NEFT transactions is cleared at 12:30 AM, and the last batch is cleared at midnight.
Moreover, some banks also offer dedicated NEFT transfer times based on NEFT transfer limits, modes, or days. We can better understand this by examining the NEFT time schedules for some of the popular banks in the country.
When are NEFT holidays ?
Previously, NEFT settlements were limited to bank working days, i.e. from 8:00 AM to 6:30 PM, Monday through Friday and thus, there were NEFT holidays on Saturday, Sunday or bank holidays. In other words, if you made an NEFT transaction on a Saturday, Sunday, or any other bank holiday, it would take until 8:00 AM on the next working day to clear. NEFT’s time limit was extended to 24 hours per week after December 2019. Therefore, there are no NEFT holidays, and the NEFT timings on Saturday, as well as any other holiday, are the same as those on a bank working day.
See also: Read about Union bank of India IFSC code
What are NEFT clearing times?
The settlement of the first batch starts after 0030 hours, and the last batch ends at 0000 hours.
Can NEFT take more than two days?
NEFT transactions are quick and do not take a lot of time. However, sometimes, the transactions may take around two hours to get processed.
How to know if NEFT is credited to the beneficiary?
After the NEFT transaction is complete, the customer will get a confirmation through SMS or email.
Is NEFT Transfer Secure?
NEFT transfer is considered a secure way to transfer funds. One is required to add beneficiary before transferring the money. It will take some time to add the beneficiary. If a new beneficiary has been added without your knowledge, then contact the bank to get it removed.
To avoid transfer of excess funds, one can set a maximum transfer limit for each beneficiary. If one has provided incorrect account number, the transaction will not be processed and funds will be reverted to the original account in a couple of hours.
FAQs
Is it possible to initiate an NEFT transfer on a Sunday?
Yes. It is possible to initiate a fund transfer on a Sunday. Money will be credited to the recipient the following working day.
Is it possible to make any other transaction via NEFT?
NEFT can be used to pay credit card bills and send money to a recipient.
Is it possible to transfer money to a bank account outside India using NEFT?
No. NEFT allows you to transfer money to any account held at a bank branch in India that supports NEFT.
How long does it take for funds to be transferred through NEFT?
NEFT may take up to two working days to credit the beneficiary's account.
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