No bank account needed for payments via RTGS, NEFT now; here is how you will benefit

Good news for those who use online banking modes like the RTGS and NEFT for making payments. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its monetary policy announcements on Wednesday has increased the ambit of the RTGS and NEFT payment modes to non-bank entities payment space including Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) issuers, Card Networks, White Label ATM (WLA) operators, Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) platforms). 

 Non-bank payment system operators include Amazon Pay, Paytm, PhonePe, MobiKwik, PayU and Ola Pay etc. This will enable the users of these services to transfer funds via RTGS and NEFT modes. 

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The membership to the RBI-operated Centralised Payment Systems (CPSs) – RTGS and NEFT – till now were limited to banks, with a few exceptions like clearing corporations and select development financial institutions.  

RBI has acknowledged the role of non-bank entities which has grown in importance and volume with new innovated services by leveraging technology that have helped them offer customised solutions.  

The inclusion of non-banks for RTGS and NEFT payments will be done in a phased manner, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has said during his Monetary Policy speech. 

The non-bank entities will now be able to take direct membership in CPSs. “This facility is expected to minimise settlement risk in the financial system and enhance the reach of digital financial services to all user segments,” the RBI Governor said.  

“These entities will, however, not be eligible for any liquidity facility from the Reserve Bank to facilitate settlement of their transactions in these CPSs,” he said. 

Transfer up to Rs 2 lakhs from one wallet to another 

Another major announcement made by the RBI was to allow transfer of amounts up to Rs 2 lakhs from one wallet to the other. This comes as a big move for the customers of mobile wallets. The users of pre-paid instruments like the mobile wallets will be able to transfer amounts up to Rs 2 lakh through interoperability. This limit was earlier up to Rs 1 lakh. But the banking regulator has made it mandatory to have full KYC or (Know Your Customers).