IMPS Charges, IMPS Transfer Charges

IMPS:

IMPS is an instant money transfer service facilitated by NPCI (National Payment Corporation of India). Full form of IMPS is Immediate Payment Service that allows people to send and receive funds in real-time. The service facilitates inter-bank transactions through mobile banking and Internet banking. This has become a highly preferred mode for transferring funds for a large population of the country and especially youngsters. The major reason behind it is that IMPS is available 24/7, 365 days which makes it highly flexible and dependable.

Unlike banks that are closed on public holidays and gazetted holidays, IMPS is always available. This means that you can be assured even if it takes some time to transfer funds due to server downtime or some technical issues, the funds you have transferred will reach the destination same day.

Features of IMPS:

Being one of the most preferred mediums of fund transfer in the country, IMPS is loaded with certain features. The features of IMPS are as follows:

Flexible: IMPS is highly flexible in nature in various aspects. Some of such aspects include: Availability: IMPS is available 24/7, 365 days meaning that it can be used anytime and from anywhere. You do not have to go to bank and wait in long queues to deposit or transfer money. Anytime availability of IMPS is its unique selling point and a major reason for being popular among the new generation.
Multi-Platform Support: Although IMPS is typically designed for mobile banking, it supports other platforms such as web. Fund transfer through IMPS can also be done through online banking. However, you will require bank account details of the beneficiary such as account number, IFSC code, etc.
Versatile: IMPS is versatile as it can be used for several other purposes rather than just sending and receiving money. The payments can be classified as P2P and P2M payments. Both P2P and P2M modes can be used for making payments for online shopping, online merchant payments, insurance premium payment, OTC payments, fees payment to schools and colleges, utility bill payments, and travel and ticketing.

Easy to use: As compared to other modes of funds transfer, IMPS is quite easy to use. You would only require the mobile number (linked to the bank account) and unique MMID of the receiver to transfer the money. Such little information requirements make IMPS an easy to use payment medium.

Fast Money Transfer: As the name suggests, IMPS is an instant money transfer medium which facilitates funds transfer in real time. Even in the situation of issues such as server downtime or any technical problems, IMPS does not take more than an hour to transfer money in the bank account of the receiver.

A Secure Medium: Despite using the internet as a fund transfer medium, IMPS is one of the safest mediums of fund transfer. Bank servers are fairly protected through firewalls whereas the data travelling on the web is encrypted which is almost impossible to crack. However, there is no safety net for human errors. Terms and conditions of IMPS clearly state that if the user makes any error while transferring the funds such as putting in the wrong mobile number or the wrong MMID then he / she has to bear the full responsibility of their actions.

Mobile Alerts: IMPS utilises the mobile banking in its full capacity. As soon as you transfer fund to the receiver, both sender and receiver receive text messages from the bank as alerts from the app. This comes as a relief for both parties as they are aware of the true state of the transaction.

Factors to Consider While Using IMPS

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Benefits of IMPS

Instant money transfer services such as IMPS come with certain benefits as well. The benefits are:

Accessibility: People carry their mobile phones everywhere. This is a phenomenon which has become a part of our lives now. And being a mobile friendly service the accessibility to IMPS is enhanced. If you are carrying your mobile phone then you can use IMPS anytime and from anywhere.

Always Available: Anytime availability is the biggest advantage of IMPS. For instance, parents often send money to their kids who are studying outstation but they face problems whenever they have to wait in long queues of banks or there are public holidays. In such situations, payment mediums such as IMPS come in handy as they are able to transfer money even on bank holidays and public holidays and at any time of the day.

Instant Funds Transfer: There are times when you have to send money immediately to a client or to a family member. Here, even if you transfer money through NEFT or RTGS, you cannot accept the funds to be received in less than 2 hours or so. On the other hand, IMPS transfers money instantly to the beneficiary’s bank account. Even in the case of a technical issue the money will be sent within an hour.

Does not Require Confidential Details: IMPS transaction performed through mobile banking does not require any confidential information about the beneficiary such as the account number and IFS code. It only requires mobile number and MMID of the beneficiary. However, IMPS fund transfer through internet requires complete bank details of the beneficiary. In such situations, the beneficiary has to have faith in you so that he/she can share the details.

Inexpensive: Except UPI, no other fund transfer medium is as economic as IMPS. IMPS charges for fund transfer goes from a minimum of Rs. 2.50 to a maximum of Rs. 25. Though the charges for NEFT are similar but it does not transfer funds in real-time, giving IMPS a definite advantage. Here is a list of IMPS charges.

Transfer Amount	Charges (Subject to Change According to Banks)
Up to Rs. 10,000	Rs. 2.50 + Applicable GST
From Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 1 lakh	Rs. 5 + Applicable GST
From Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh	Rs. 15 + Applicable GST
Rs. 2 lakh and Above	Rs. 25 + Applicable GST or No Charge

*IMPS charges are subject to bank’s policies and they vary accordingly. Some banks do not levy any charges on transactions above Rs. 2 lakh through IMPS.

IMPS Eligibility

Being a service integrated to mobile banking, IMPS requires a person to have bank accounts with mobile banking enabled. Even if you are transferring money through IMPS using the internet, you need to have the MMIDs of both the parties. This makes it mandatory to have a functioning bank account.

Having said that, banks are also required to fulfil an eligibility criterion to facilitate IMPS. As per the RBI regulations, only the banks that offer mobile banking facility approved by RBI can participate in IMPS.

IMPS Charges: IMPS charges are largely subject to the amount which is being transferred along with the bank’s policies. However, the regular IMPS charges range from Rs. 2.50 to Rs. 25 for amounts of Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 2 lakh. IMPS charges for some prominent banks of the country are given here.

ICICI Bank IMPS Charges:

Transfer Amount	Charges (Subject to Change According to Banks)
Up to Rs. 10,000	Rs. 5 + Applicable GST
From Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 1 lakh	Rs. 5 + Applicable GST
From Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh	Rs. 15 + Applicable GST

PNB (Punjab National Bank) IMPS Charges: IMPS charges for PNB customers are among the lowest as PNB charges only Rs. 5 for transactions up to Rs. 1 lakh.

SBI IMPS Charges:

Transfer Amount	Charges (Subject to Change According to Banks)
Up to Rs. 1,000	No charges
From Rs. 1,001 to Rs. 1 lakh	Rs. 5 + Applicable GST
From Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh	Rs. 15 + Applicable GST

How IMPS Works

IMPS is primarily designed to be used on mobile phones. The user only requires a GSM enabled phone with a data pack to use IMPS. Customers need to have mobile banking activated in their bank accounts. IMPS can also be used through internet banking using the bank details of the beneficiary. To transfer money through IMPS from the internet, customers require the internet banking facility in their account.

To transfer funds through IMPS on mobile platform, you need to download the mobile banking application of the respective bank and generate the 7-digit MMID (Mobile Money Identifier). This is unique ID and without it you cannot avail the service. To transfer money into someone’s bank account, you require the beneficiary’s MMID and their registered mobile number.

Most users prefer to send money through IMPS using them mobile platform as it does not require entering complicated bank details. The limit for transferring funds through IMPS usually goes from a Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 2 lakh. This limit depends on the respective bank’s policy.

How to Use IMPS

Using IMPS is relatively simple than most mediums of money transfer but users need to know a few steps so that they do not face any issues while transferring money.

Install the mobile banking application of the respective bank. For example – SBI Anywhere.

Log in using the User ID and Password provided by the bank. The app will automatically fetch your bank details as soon as you log in.

Go to the IMPS option in the app and follow the prompt to generate your unique MMID.

You are all set to use IMPS as soon as your MMID is generated.

Now to transfer funds, your first step should be to ask for the MMID of the receiver. Without it you cannot transfer the funds.

Then you have to enter the required details such as name of the beneficiary, registered mobile number of the beneficiary, beneficiary MMID, and the amount to be transferred.

After entering details, you should double check the details and confirm the transaction.

Factors to Consider While Using IMPS

IMPS is one of the easiest and fastest modes of money transfer but a slight mistake can lead to loss of funds. Here is a list of a few factors to consider while transferring funds through IMPS.

IMPS requires mobile banking for transferring funds. Even if you are transferring funds through IMPS using the web, you need to have the MMID of both parties and it cannot be generated without mobile banking.

IMPS through the web is complicated. This is because the users are required to enter information such as bank details, IFS code, mobile number of the receiver, name of the receiver, and MMID. Entering too many details can lead to mistakes and while transferring funds even the slightest mistake can cause severe financial damage.

As per RBI regulations, the users must check the details twice or thrice before confirming the payment through UPI or IMPS. This is because the money transferred to a wrong bank account can only be returned with the consent of the beneficiary.

In any case, IMPS requires an internet connection either on mobile phone or on your computer to transfer funds.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Customers always have so many questions about banking services such as IMPS and this is why some of the frequently asked questions are answered here.

Q. Who monitors the limits of the transferred amount of each bank account in IMPS transactions?

A. Monitoring of the transfer limit of the accounts is not a manual work. Such limitations are embedded in bank servers and software that automatically deny the transaction when the transactions reach a certain limit.

Q. Can a bank raise dispute for an IMPS transaction?

A. Yes, the participating banks can raise a dispute between each other if there is any related to the clearance. NPCI has designed a Dispute Management System which is similar to NFS for resolving disputes between banks.

Q. Is there any transaction limit for the participating banks regarding IMPS?

A. The participating banks also have to follow the transaction limit regarding IMPS which is NDC (Net Debit Cap). NDC is calculated by NPCI and it indicates that the net total inward and outward of the day will count in NDC. This is the maximum daily debit allowed by RBI for any Indian bank. The maximum allowable debit is determined by the total contribution of the participating bank to SGF (Settlement Guarantee Fund).