NEFT to remain unavailable for 14 hrs on May 23

The popular National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system for online transfer of funds will remain unavailable for 14 hours from Saturday mid-night till Sunday afternoon due technical upgrade, the Reserve Bank of India said on Monday.

National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) is a nation-wide centralised payment system owned and operated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

It is available round the clock availability on all days of the year.

A technical upgrade of NEFT, targeted to enhance the performance and resilience, is scheduled after the close of business of May 22, 2021, RBI said in a statement.

"Accordingly, NEFT service will not be available from 00:01 hrs to 14:00 hrs on Sunday, May 23, 2021. The RTGS system will continue to be operational as usual during this period," the RBI said.

The RBI has asked banks to inform their customers to plan their payment operations accordingly.

Similar technical upgrade for real-time gross settlement (RTGS) was completed on April 18, 2021.

RTGS facility is used for high-value fund transfers. NEFT is also a near-real-time funds transfer facility.

NEFT currently operates in batches on half-hourly intervals throughout the day.

Besides funds transfer, NEFT system is also used for a variety of transactions including payment of credit card dues to the card issuing banks, payment of loan EMI, and inward foreign exchange remittances, among others.

Photograph: PTI Photo