1. What is RTGS?

Real Time Gross Settlement system is an instant settlement system usu ally used for high value payments. It is `Gross' because payments are not bundled together and are settled on orderon-order basis. The fund settlement system takes place in the RBI's books, hence they are irrevocable and final. The benefi ciary bank receives the amount on real time from the remitting bank and the beneficiary account should be credited within 30 minutes by the bank. The minimum amount for RTGS is `2 lakh. Charges: `2 lakh to `5 lakh not ex ceeding `30 per transac tion and beyond `5 lakh it would not exceed `55.

2. What is IMPS?

Immediate Payment Service, initiated by National Payments Corporation of India of fers an instant 24x7 in terbank electronic fund transfer through mobile phones, internet and ATMs which is not only safe but also economical. It was started as a pi lot project in August 2010 but had its public launch in November 22, 2010. Though it had started with State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Bank of India later pri vate banks like Axis Bank and HDFC Bank also joined. Now the whole list of banks is available with the NPCI website.

3. How does NEFT work?

National Electronic Fund Transfer is a nationwide payment system that allows bank account holder to transfer funds to another individual or corporate account. NEFT is not a real-time fund transfer, as settlements are done in batches hourly . There are twelve settlement windows (between 8 am to 7 pm) daily and six settlements on Saturdays (between 8 am and 1 pm). There is no limit or minimum amount for a NEFT, however, for an individual the limit for domestic cash remittances is `50,000.NEFT transaction can happen at the bank branch or through internet transactions or even through ATM with a minor service charge.

4. Wallet Transfer -An Alternative Mechanism

Users can transfer money using a smartphone through e-wallet transfers as long as the transaction takes place with the same e-wallet service provider. Wallet transfers are restricted to an upper limit of `10,000 per transaction. To transfer the funds the user needs to open the app, add the beneficiary's email id or mobile number and put in the amount to be transferred. Once the transaction is authenticated by the remitter the money gets added to the wallet of the beneficiary in real time.