Immediate Payment Service (IMPS)

Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) is an instant interbank electronic fund transfer service through mobile phones. It is also being extended through other channels such as ATM, Internet Banking, etc.

Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) is an instant payment inter-bank electronic funds transfer system in India. IMPS offers an inter-bank electronic fund transfer service through mobile phones. The service is available 24×7 throughout the year including bank holidays. NEFT was also made available 24×7 from December 2019. RTGS was also made available 24×7 from 14th December 2020.

It is managed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and is built upon the existing National Financial Switch network. In 2010, the NPCI initially carried out a pilot for the mobile payment system with 4 member banks (State Bank of India, Bank of India, Union Bank of India and ICICI Bank), and expanded it to include Yes Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank later that year. IMPS was publicly launched on 22 November 2010. Currently, there are 53 commercial banks, 101 Rural/District/Urban and cooperative banks, and 24 PPIi signed up for the IMPS service.

Around 200 million IMPS transactions amounting to roughly US$20 billion of transaction amount happen every month in India. The sender requires to know the bank account number and the Indian Financial System Code of the beneficiary to transfer money.

The process of IMPS transfer through net-banking is as follows; Log into your bank’s net-banking portal; add an IMPS beneficiary by inputting the beneficiary’s account no., account type, IFSC Code, name, and contact details; after your bank confirms that the beneficiary has been included, go to Fund Transfer and then select the beneficiary to whom you want to transfer funds. Once you do that the beneficiary’s account details will appear, enter Amount and Remarks (optional). Verify the payment and your funds will be transferred instantly through IMPS.

The process of IMPS transfer through mobile banking is as follows; Log into your bank’s mobile banking application; add the beneficiary, if not already added (the process of adding a beneficiary has been described above), once the beneficiary is added, click on Send Money/Fund Transfer tab and go to the IMPS option; there enter Beneficiary mobile no., Amount and the beneficiary’s Mobile Money Identifier (MMID). The application will then ask for your Mobile PIN (MPIN) to authenticate the transfer, once you verify your Mobile PIN, your money will be transferred and then the bank will send you a confirmation text message mentioning the transaction no. You can use that transaction no. while giving feedback/for queries and complaints.

Benefits:

• Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) is a fast, safe and secure way to send and receive funds.
• IMPS is one of the fastest and one of the most reliable ways to conduct inter-account money transfers. The Unified Payment Interface (UPI) is also built on this platform.
• IMPS works on both net-banking and mobile platforms and its services are available at all times even on public and bank holidays and bank off-days.
• Bank account nos. are not necessarily required for IMPS fund transfer if you are transacting through mobile. Transfer notification is sent by the bank to both the payer and the payee when the transfer is complete.
• The IMPS fund transfer limit currently is Rupees 2 lakh per day. The minimum allowed transaction value in IMPS is Rupees 1.
• Money can be sent to any beneficiary through IMPS mobile platform by only providing his/her mobile no. and Mobile Money Identifier (MMID).
• To conduct transactions through the IMPS, you shall have to follow the below steps:
• Register for mobile banking or net banking of your bank account.
• If accessing the IMPS fund transfer through mobile banking, you should have the beneficiary’s Mobile Money Identifier (MMID) and your MPIN (Mobile PIN).
• If you are transferring money through IMPS net-banking, you need the payee’s account details such as account name, no., IFSC, etc. to pay the beneficiary.

Features of IMPS

The IMPS payment facility offers a number of features that are highly beneficial in the digital world. These are listed as follows:

Supports dual platforms: The IMPS payment transfer facility can be accessed as per the user’s convenience on the dual platforms of mobile and the web. This means that IMPS can be used through a mobile app or through accessing the internet through any other medium. However, it must be noted that using IMPS via the web might require you to provide additional details.

Instant Fund Transfer: Unlike other payment methods like NEFT, wherein the funds are transferred in batches and slots, IMPS transactions are quick and fast. This is because the IMPS transactions are made instantly, without any hindrance. Even in case of technical errors, it doesn’t take more than an hour for the successful transfer of funds via IMPS.

Availability: The best part about IMPS payments is that funds can be transferred anytime. Thus, the user is not bound to remember the bank or public holidays to make a transfer of funds. IMPS payments are available 24*7 and 365 days in a year, irrespective of a Sunday or any holiday.

Safe and Secure: IMPS transactions are safe and secure in comparison to physical transfer of funds using deposit slips. This is because IMPS can be accessed at the comfort of one’s privacy, while transferring funds via deposit slips might prompt frauds to misuse various information. In addition to that, it must be noted the IMPS transactions are protected on the internet using the end-to-end encryptions and firewalled servers. Thus, they are safe and secure in every sense.

Multiple Confirmations: On successful payment of funds via IMPS, the user gets a confirmation from the bank as well as from the mobile banking application. Further, the details regarding the credit and debit of funds are sent to both the receiver and the sender. Thus, there is the least chance of confusion.