Charges on RTGS, NEFT deals go

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India Thursday said it has done away with charges on fund transfers through RTGS and NEFT routes to boost digital transactions and asked banks to pass on the benefits to customers.

The Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) is meant for large-value instantaneous fund transfers while the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) System is used for fund transfers up to Rs 2 lakh. Country's largest bank SBI charges between Re 1 and Rs 5 for transactions through NEFT and between Rs 5 and Rs 50 for RTGS route.

In its statement on developmental and regulatory policies after the Monetary Policy Committee's meeting, the RBI said it levies minimum charges on banks for transactions routed through RTGS and NEFT system for other fund transfers.

Banks, in turn, levy charges on their customers. In order to provide an impetus to digital funds movement, it has been decided to do away with the charges levied by the RBI for transactions processed in the RTGS and NEFT systems, it said. "Banks will be required, in turn, to pass these benefits to their customers. Instructions to banks in this regard will be issued within a week," the central bank said.