24 hour RTGS to boost ease of doing business

MUMBAI: Real-time gross settlement (RTGS) — a mechanism for high-value bank fund transfers — will be made available round-the-clock from December 2020 instead of just during daytime on working days. The move will improve ease of doing business in India as companies use this platform for payments and, with increased digitisation, commercial transactions are taking place throughout the day.
Announcing the measure in his post-monetary policy statement, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said that in December 2019, the RBI made available the national electronic funds transfer (NEFT) system on a 24x7 basis and it has been operating smoothly since then. “To facilitate swift and seamless payments in real-time for domestic businesses and institutions, it has been decided to make available the RTGS system round-the-clock on all days from December,” said Das.
The third-payment platform — Immediate Payment System (IMPS) — which is used for lower-value transactions among individual accounts has been available on a 24-hour basis for several years now.
“This will support India to become an integral part of global financial markets and provide wider payment elasticity to domestic companies and institutions. The RBI initiative would also enable almost all businesses to operate 24x7, with a payment system that supports trade and commerce,” said Mahesh Ramamoorthy, MD — banking solutions, FIS. “This move will certainly encourage innovations in real-time payment system, and promote ease of doing business,” he added.