RBI launches RTGS 24x7 facilitating round-the-clock money transfer

23 Dec 2020

Beginning today, the Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) will be available round the clock on all days of the year. This will provide extended flexibility to businesses for effecting payments and will enable introduction of additional settlement cycles in ancillary payment systems.

Reserve Bank had in its Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies, issued on 9 October, had announced that RTGS 24x7x365 will be launched with effect from 00:30 hours on 14 December 2020.

India is now one of the few countries in the world to operate the RTGS system round the clock throughout the year. This comes within a year of operationalising NEFT 24x7 by the Reserve Bank.

RTGS, which began its operations on 26 March 2004 with a soft launch involving four banks, currently handles 6.35 lakh transactions daily for a value of Rs4.17 lakh crore across 237 participant banks. The average ticket size for RTGS in November 2020 was ?57.96 lakh making it a truly large value payment system.

RTGS uses ISO 20022 format, which is the best-in-class messaging standard for financial transactions. The feature of positive confirmation for credit to beneficiary accounts is also available in RTGS.

Round-the-clock availability of RTGS will provide extended flexibility to businesses for effecting payments and will enable introduction of additional settlement cycles in ancillary payment systems. This can also be leveraged to enhance operations of Indian financial markets and cross-border payments.

Highlights od 24x7x365 RTGS

RTGS shall be available for customer and inter-bank transactions round the clock, except for the interval between ‘end-of-day’ and ‘start-of-day’ processes, whose timings would be duly broadcasted through the RTGS system.
RTGS shall continue to be governed by the RTGS System Regulations, 2013, as amended from time to time.
Intra-Day Liquidity (IDL) facility shall be made available to facilitate smooth operations. IDL availed, if any, shall be reversed before the ‘end-of-day’ process begins.
RTGS transactions undertaken after normal banking hours are expected to be automated using ‘Straight Through Processing (STP)’ modes.
RTGS System is used for high value transactions.
It happens on a real-time basis. Every transaction is settled individually in case of RTGS.
Currently, the RTGS transaction facility is available for customers from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm on all working days of a week, except the second and fourth Saturdays of every month.
RBI stopped levying charges on transactions through RTGS from July 2019
RBI also decided to increase the limit for contactless card transactions to Rs5,000 from Rs2,000 at Point of Sale (PoS) terminals from 1 January 2021 in view of the Covid-19 pandemic and feedback from stakeholders.