Gone are the days when people had to visit the bank to make an account to account money transfer. They do not have to go to the bank or wait in queues to carry out basic banking transactions. Now, they can transfer money easily using the internet. The rising popularity of mobile and online banking is responsible for the drastic reduction in the number of people visiting the bank too.
There are plenty of ways in which bank account holders can transfer money. Some of them have been mentioned here:
- Cheques
- Wire Transfer
- Net Banking
- Mobile Banking
- National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT)
- Real-time Gross Settlement (RTGS)
- Immediate payment Service (IMPS)
- UPI-enabled Mobile Apps
- Third-party Transfer Apps
Before banking facilities were made available online, people had to visit the bank for account to account money transfer. It was an inconvenient and time-consuming experience. Using the internet, people can now transfer money at a moment’s notice irrespective of their physical location.
There are multiple offline and online modes of money transfer facilities available to customers these days. Some of the main account to account money transfer services have been discussed in detail here:
Cheques: If you want to transfer money to someone else, you can write a cheque to the payee. You can also write a cheque to yourself if you want to transfer money from your own account in one bank to another. This is one of the best options if the bank from which you want to send the money does not allow online transfers to the payee’s bank or the bank in which you want to receive the money.
You will have to wait for the cheque to get cleared to receive the funds in your account. Needless to say, in the digital world, this form of account to account money transfer is not popular anymore.
Wire Transfer: You can also make an account to account money transfer by availing the wire transfer facility. This funds transfer facility also enables cash to bank account transfer. If you compare wire transfer to online bank transfer facility, it is not as fast as services like IMPS and it is also quite expensive.
Most people avail wire transfer facility when they want to send money overseas. However, for nation-wide money transfer, this can be quite expensive and people prefer other funds transfer services provided by the bank.
NEFT: National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) service is provided by most Indian banks to their account holders. The customers can log in to the bank’s desktop website, mobile website or mobile app to initiate an account to account money transfer. NEFT transactions are carried out in batches during the business hours by the bank.
Money can be transferred using the NEFT facility only during the business hours of the bank. If the customer initiates the transaction when the bank is closed, the transaction is completed on the next business day. The maximum limit for a NEFT transaction is Rs. 2 lakh. The banks levy a nominal charge on each transaction based on the transaction amount.
RTGS: Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) money transfer facility is provided by most banks in India. RTGS transactions are carried out by the bank immediately when they receive the instructions. Customers can opt for RTGS facility to carry out large value transactions and transfer money from their bank account to their own bank account in another bank or to a beneficiary holding a bank account in the same bank or another.
Most banks have set the minimum and maximum RTGS transaction limits to Rs 2 lakh and Rs 10 lakh respectively. It is important to know here that RTGS transactions are only carried out during the business hours of the bank. Customers have to pay nominal transaction charges based on the transfer amount for RTGS transactions.
IMPS: Introduced in 2010, Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) makes sure that customers do not have to wait for the bank to open to transfer money online. Over 53 public sector, private sector, and regional rural banks provide IMPS facility these days. The biggest advantages of IMPS is that people can carry out these transactions on weekends, other bank holidays, and after business hours of the bank. This is one of the key features that differentiates IMPS from NEFT and RTGS.
Currently, people can transfer up to Rs 2 lakh using IMPS per day. It is important to note here that the total amount transferred per day cannot exceed this limit irrespective of the number of transactions.
UPI-enabled Apps: Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a smartphone-enabled money transfer technology that bank account holders can use to transfer money using a unique UPI Id. The customers need to register for UPI using their bank’s mobile website or app. They receive a unique UPI Id mapped to their bank account that they can use to send or receive money without divulging their bank details. It is a safe and secure way to carry out online banking transactions. There are plenty of banks offering UPI-enabled apps that you can install on your smartphone and use to transfer money. Account to account money transfer using UPI-enabled apps is free of cost right now.
Third-party Transfer Apps: There are plenty of third-party transfer apps that are available these days. You can visit the Google Play store if you own an Android phone or App store if you own an iPhone to find and download a good third-part transfer app. Some of the apps allow you to register different bank accounts in your profile and make it easy for you to transfer money from one bank to another.
It is important to remember that to use mobile banking website and apps, you must be registered for mobile banking with your bank. And to avail internet banking facilities, you need to be registered for net banking. You can apply for both net banking and mobile banking even though it is not mandatory to have both. Once you have your net banking or mobile banking credentials, you can use them to log into your bank account online and transfer funds easily.