NEFT round the clock set to boost digital payments

How did NEFT function before 16 December?

Before 16 December, NEFT was available for customers from 8am to 7pm on all working days, except the second and fourth Saturdays of the month and other bank holidays. NEFT transactions do not happen in real time. They were settled in half-hourly batches through 23 settlements. Despite the time restrictions, NEFT handled 2.3 billion transactions valued at around ₹228 trillion in 2018-19, up from 1.9 billion transactions valued at ₹172 trillion in the previous year—a growth of 19.1% in terms of volume and 32.3% in terms of value. At the end of March, it was available through 144,927 branches of 209 banks.

What has changed now in the system?

RBI has now made the facility available 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.