Walk into any branch in India and ask the teller how to send money to another bank account. You'll typically get one of three answers: NEFT, RTGS, or IMPS. All three move money between banks, all three are run under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India, and all three need an IFSC and a bank account number. So why does India need three of them?
The short answer is that each system was designed for a different shape of payment. NEFT is the everyday workhorse, RTGS is the big-ticket courier, and IMPS is the always-on instant messenger. Choosing the wrong one can mean paying a higher fee than necessary, waiting hours when you needed seconds, or hitting a transfer limit that doesn't exist in the other system. This guide walks you through how each works, what it costs, when you should pick it, and the small operational details that often catch people off guard.
What's in this guide
At-a-glance comparison
| Feature | NEFT | RTGS | IMPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Settlement | Half-hourly batches | Real time, transaction by transaction | Real time, instantly |
| Availability | 24 x 7, all year | 24 x 7, all year | 24 x 7, all year |
| Minimum amount | No minimum | Rs 2,00,000 | Rs 1 |
| Maximum amount | No upper limit | No upper limit | Rs 5,00,000 per transaction |
| Online charges | Free | Free | Free or up to Rs 15 |
| Branch / offline charges | Up to Rs 25 + GST | Up to Rs 50 + GST | Set by bank |
| Best for | Salary, EMI, regular bills | High-value transfers, property | Urgent person-to-person transfers |
NEFT — the everyday workhorse
NEFT stands for National Electronic Funds Transfer. It is the oldest of the three systems and the one most Indians have used at least once, often without realising it: most salary credits, EMI debits, and merchant payouts settle over NEFT.
The defining feature of NEFT is that it works in batches. Every half hour, the RBI's NEFT system collects all the transfer instructions banks have queued up since the previous batch, nets them off, and settles the resulting amounts between banks. So while NEFT is usually described as "near real time," there can be a wait of up to thirty minutes — sometimes longer when the system is busy or your bank's outbound queue is large.
Since December 2019, NEFT has been available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including Sundays and bank holidays. Online NEFT transfers are completely free at every Indian bank, after the RBI directed banks to stop charging for them. Branch-initiated NEFTs may still attract a small fee, capped by the RBI at:
- Rs 2.50 + GST for transfers up to Rs 10,000
- Rs 5 + GST for amounts between Rs 10,000 and Rs 1 lakh
- Rs 15 + GST for Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh
- Rs 25 + GST for amounts above Rs 2 lakh
RTGS — for big-ticket transfers
RTGS, Real-Time Gross Settlement, is the system the RBI built specifically for large-value transactions. The "real-time" part means each transaction is settled individually the moment it is processed, not collected into a batch. The "gross settlement" part means each instruction is settled in full, one at a time, rather than netted off against other transactions.
This makes RTGS the fastest interbank settlement method available in India for high-value payments. Banks typically credit the beneficiary within 30 minutes of receiving the instruction, and most modern banks process it within a couple of minutes during normal hours. Like NEFT, RTGS now operates 24 x 7 since December 2020, including weekends and holidays.
The catch is the minimum amount. RTGS is meant for big payments only — the floor is Rs 2,00,000. There is no upper limit. Property purchases, business-to-business invoices, large gifts to family, and bulk vendor payments are all classic RTGS use cases.
Online RTGS is free at all banks. Branch RTGSs are still chargeable, with RBI caps at Rs 25 + GST for transfers up to Rs 5 lakh and Rs 50 + GST for amounts above Rs 5 lakh.
IMPS — instant 24 x 7 transfers
IMPS, Immediate Payment Service, was launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2010. While NEFT and RTGS were originally built around banking hours, IMPS was conceived from day one as a 24 x 7 instant transfer rail. It pre-dates UPI by six years and is still used as the underlying settlement mechanism for many UPI transactions.
What makes IMPS different is that it can be initiated using either the beneficiary's account number plus IFSC, or using a mobile number plus a Mobile Money Identifier (MMID). MMIDs were a clever solution at a time when not everyone had a smartphone or internet banking. Today most IMPS volume runs on the IFSC route, but the MMID option is still supported by every major bank.
Charges and limits vary by bank but the typical structure is:
- Free for transfers up to Rs 1,000
- Rs 5 to Rs 15 + GST for higher amounts
- Per-transaction limit of Rs 5,00,000 (recently increased from Rs 2 lakh)
A note on charges in 2026
The RBI's 2019 directive made online NEFT and RTGS effectively free, and most banks went a step further by waiving IMPS charges as well to keep up with UPI's zero-cost user experience. In practice, almost every retail customer in India today pays nothing for online interbank transfers under typical limits.
Where charges still apply:
- Branch-initiated transfers, which still carry RBI-capped fees.
- Some private banks levy IMPS charges above certain monthly free-transfer thresholds.
- Cards and add-on services attached to a transfer (like e-stamping for property RTGSs) carry their own fees.
If you're calculating the true cost of a payment for tax or accounting purposes, our GST calculator can help work out the GST component on bank charges, and our business expense tracker can log them as deductible business costs.
How to choose the right method
Use NEFT when…
- You're sending a regular, non-urgent payment.
- The amount is below Rs 2,00,000 and the recipient can wait up to 30 minutes.
- You're paying rent, EMIs, school fees, or vendor invoices on schedule.
- You want a no-cost option that works on weekends and holidays.
Use RTGS when…
- The amount is Rs 2,00,000 or more.
- You need same-day settlement with maximum certainty (property registration, large business payments).
- The transfer is high-value enough that you want each transaction tracked individually rather than batched.
Use IMPS when…
- The recipient needs the money right now and you're transferring less than Rs 5 lakh.
- You're sending money outside banking hours and don't want any wait at all.
- You want the option to send by mobile number rather than account number.
What to do if a transfer fails
Failed transfers are frustrating but the resolution path is well defined:
- Check your bank's transaction status in net banking or the mobile app. Each transfer has a unique reference number (UTR for NEFT/RTGS, RRN for IMPS).
- Wait the standard window — NEFT auto-reverses by the next batch (within 2 hours typically), IMPS within minutes, and RTGS by end of day.
- If the money is debited but not received, raise a complaint with your bank citing the UTR/RRN. Banks are required to credit the funds back to your account within stipulated timelines defined by the RBI.
- Failed-transaction compensation: If a bank delays an auto-reversal beyond the regulatory window, the RBI mandates Rs 100 per day compensation, payable to the customer.
- Wrong-account credit is harder to reverse. The bank can request the recipient to authorise a return, but cannot force it. The faster you raise the complaint, the better the chance of recovery.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is RTGS faster than IMPS?
For pure speed, IMPS is usually instant — typically under 30 seconds. RTGS settles within a few minutes during normal load. For amounts under Rs 5 lakh, IMPS will almost always be quicker. For amounts above that, RTGS is the only option that supports it in real time.
Can I cancel an NEFT or RTGS after submitting it?
Practically, no. Once your bank has accepted the instruction and pushed it into the NEFT or RTGS queue, it will be processed. The only way to recover the funds is to ask the recipient to send them back.
Is there a tax implication for NEFT, RTGS or IMPS transfers?
The transfer itself is not taxed, but if you are receiving money from non-relatives in significant amounts, gift tax rules under the Income Tax Act may apply. Consult a tax professional for amounts above Rs 50,000 from non-relatives.
Do I need an IFSC for IMPS?
Yes if you're sending by account number. No if you're using the MMID route, where only the recipient's mobile number and MMID are needed. UPI itself doesn't expose the IFSC to the user, but IMPS-on-IFSC is its underlying rail.
What is the cut-off time for NEFT and RTGS?
Both NEFT and RTGS now run 24 x 7, 365 days. There is no daily cut-off for retail transactions. Banks may have their own internal deadlines for tax-related and large RTGS payments to ensure same-business-day processing.
Final word
NEFT, RTGS, and IMPS look similar from the outside but each was built for a different problem. Knowing which one to reach for can save time, fees, and a lot of frustration when a transfer doesn't behave the way you expected. Bookmark this comparison and the next time you initiate a transfer in your banking app, the right choice will be obvious.
Need to look up the IFSC for any of these transfers? Use our free IFSC search tool. And if you'd like to see how a regular NEFT EMI affects your loan repayment over time, give our loan EMI calculator a try.