Post Office savings account holders to get NEFT, RTGS facility: Check details here

New Delhi: The Department of Post has made the NEFT and RTGS facilities available to Post Office savings account holders. PO savings account customers can now send money electronically. In a circular released on May 17, the CBDT stated that the NEFT facility will be available to POSB clients starting May 18, 2022.

PO saving account customers, on the other hand, will be able to use the RTGS service starting May 31, 2022. Customers can now effortlessly transfer funds from other bank accounts to POSB accounts in DoP-CBS, thanks to the debut of the service (Department of Posts - Core Banking Solutions).

The CBDT said, "This is regarding roll out of NEFT/RTGS facility for POSB accounts which is going to be made operational for POSB account holders from 31.05.2022. Standard Operating Procedure for Payment Channel Division, Bengaluru (Annexure l), Standard Operating Procedure for end users of Post Offices (Annexure ll) and Standard Accounting Procedure (Annexure lll) are attached herewith.”

The department then released a clarification, stating that RTGS functionality is now being tested and would be available by May 31, 2022. "The NEFT rollout date can be read as 18.05.2022. Before the rollout, a separate SOP for RTGS will be circulated," it noted.

What is NEFT, RTGS?

RTGS stands for Real Time Gross Settlement, whereas NEFT is for National Electronic Funds Transfer. These services are available around the clock, 365 days a year, regardless of post office or bank holidays. Both are electronic money transfers, however NEFT transactions are settled every half hour, with the first batch beginning at 12:30 a.m. and the last batch, known as the EOD batch, ending at midnight. RTGS transactions, on the other hand, are settled in real time.

Through NEFT transactions, the money is delivered the same day or the next day to the recipient.

Charges for NEFT transactions

Customers that use NEFT transactions are charged the following service fees:

For transactions up to Rs 10,000 - Rs 2.50 + applicable GST

For transactions above Rs 10,000 up to Rs 1 lakh - Rs 5 + applicable GST

For transactions above Rs 1 lakh up to Rs 2 lakh - Rs 15 + applicable GST

For transactions above Rs 2 lakh - Rs 25 + applicable GST

Maximum and minimum transaction limit

For NEFT remittances, the minimum and maximum amounts per transaction are Rs 1 and Rs 15 lakh, respectively. Outward NEFT using eBanking and mBanking channels has a transaction limit of Rs 2 lakh per transaction. The maximum number of transactions per day is 5.

Outward NEFT transactions initiated through eBanking and mBanking services have a daily transaction limit of Rs 10 lakh. For eBanking and mBanking, there is a time variable transaction capping to limit the risk of fraud. As a result, from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., the maximum transaction limit for outward NEFT initiated through eBanking/m-Banking is Rs 2 lakh.

How to report a grievance

Customers can file complaints about their NEFT transactions using any of the following methods:

a. India Post's customer service number is 1800 2666 868.

b. Through the India Post website's complaints area (https://www.indiapost.gov.in/VAS/Pages/ComplaintRegistration.aspx). Select NEFT as the type of savings bank service under the financial services category.

c. In any post office branch, using SAP-CRM.

d. End users of post offices should file complaints in SAP-CRM under the financial services-Savings Bank category.

e. For any NEFT transaction-related complaints, a UTR number is required.

f. For operational help and significant difficulties, Post Offices and Circles can contact the Nodal Office in Bengaluru. (postatm@indiapost.gov.in) e-mail