Electronic Clearing and Settlement Systems · One-liners

1 Less than ₹50,000?

PPS not applicable

2 ₹50,000 – ₹4,99,999?

Optional (customer can opt-in for added security)

3 ₹5,00,000 and above?

Mandatory for all cheque presentations

4 Up to ₹4,99,999 self-presentation?

Exempt when presented by the account holder himself or authorised signatories

5 Use case — NEFT / RTGS?

NEFT: Small / retail transfers; RTGS: Large-value transfers

6 Settlement — NEFT / RTGS?

NEFT: Deferred net settlement in 48 half-hourly batches; RTGS: Real-time gross settlement, transaction-by-transaction

7 Minimum amount — NEFT / RTGS?

NEFT: No limit; RTGS: ₹2,00,000

8 Maximum amount — NEFT / RTGS?

NEFT: No limit; RTGS: No limit

9 24×7 availability — NEFT / RTGS?

NEFT: Since 16 Dec 2019; RTGS: Since 14 Dec 2020

10 Year introduced — NEFT / RTGS?

NEFT: 2005; RTGS: 2004

11 Operator — NEFT / RTGS?

NEFT: RBI; RTGS: RBI

12 Person-to-Person (P2P)?

MMID + Mobile Number of beneficiary

13 Person-to-Account (P2A)?

IFSC + Account Number of beneficiary

14 Person-to-Merchant (P2M)?

Merchant MMID + Mobile Number

15 Person-to-UID (P2U)?

Beneficiary's Aadhaar number

16 Send Money?

Using VPA, Account + IFSC, Aadhaar, or QR code

17 Request Money?

Pull-payment request by entering the payee's VPA

18 Scan & Pay?

Pay merchants by scanning QR; generate-own-QR also supported

19 Transaction History?

View prior transactions and pending UPI-collect requests

20 UPI PIN Management?

Link bank account and set/reset 4-digit/6-digit UPI PIN

21 General P2P / P2M — Per-Transaction Limit / Daily / Cumulative Limit?

Per-Transaction Limit: ₹1,00,000 (NPCI default); Daily / Cumulative Limit: ₹1 lakh per day per app (banks may vary)

22 Capital-market: IPO, Mutual Funds, Trading accounts — Per-Transaction Limit / Daily / Cumulative Limit?

Per-Transaction Limit: ₹5,00,000; Daily / Cumulative Limit: ₹10 lakh per day aggregate

23 Insurance Premium payments — Per-Transaction Limit / Daily / Cumulative Limit?

Per-Transaction Limit: ₹5,00,000; Daily / Cumulative Limit: ₹10 lakh per day aggregate

24 Education Fees / Hospital bills — Per-Transaction Limit / Daily / Cumulative Limit?

Per-Transaction Limit: ₹5,00,000; Daily / Cumulative Limit: as set by bank

25 First 24 hours after new-user registration — Per-Transaction Limit / Daily / Cumulative Limit?

Per-Transaction Limit: ₹5,000 total; Daily / Cumulative Limit: irrespective of bank limit

26 Balance enquiry per app per day — Per-Transaction Limit / Daily / Cumulative Limit?

Per-Transaction Limit: 50 attempts; Daily / Cumulative Limit: exceeded blocked for 24 hrs

27 Payment status check (pending txn) — Per-Transaction Limit / Daily / Cumulative Limit?

Per-Transaction Limit: 3 attempts with 90-second gap; Daily / Cumulative Limit: per transaction

28 Hub System?

Operated by IDRBT; switches inter-bank messages from the sending bank's Gateway to the receiving bank's Gateway.

29 Bank Gateway?

Routes intra-bank messages between branch servers; forwards inter-bank messages to the Hub; receives Hub messages and dispatches them to its own branches.

30 Branch Server?

Parents one or more branches; allows users to create, verify, authorise outgoing messages and view/process incoming ones.

31 Thin Client / Thick Client?

Thin Clients are PCs using a standard browser to connect to the Branch Server (online only). Thick Clients are off-line servers that allow off-line creation, verification, authorisation and processing of messages, syncing later.

32 Creator?

Create, list, view messages (password-based access)

33 Verifier?

Verify outgoing messages created by Creators

34 Authoriser?

Authorise messages verified by Verifiers

35 Super User?

Create and maintain other user accounts

36 Net Settlement System — Description / Examples?

Description: Many transactions are accumulated and offset against each other; only the net differential is transferred between the participating members at the end of the batch/window.; Examples: NEFT (Deferred Net Settlement), NACH, paper-cheque clearing

37 Gross Settlement System — Description / Examples?

Description: Each transaction is settled individually on a one-to-one basis, in real time, without bundling or netting with any other.; Examples: RTGS (Real-Time Gross Settlement)

38 RTGS — Regulator / Operator?

Regulator: RBI; Operator: RBI

39 NEFT — Regulator / Operator?

Regulator: RBI; Operator: RBI

40 CTS — Regulator / Operator?

Regulator: RBI; Operator: NPCI (CTS clearing houses)

41 IMPS, UPI, RuPay, AePS, NFS, NACH, BBPS, NETC, BharatQR, BHIM — Regulator / Operator?

Regulator: RBI; Operator: NPCI

42 SFMS — Regulator / Operator?

Regulator: RBI; Operator: IDRBT (and now IFTAS, an RBI subsidiary)

43 Cards (issuance, acquiring) — Regulator / Operator?

Regulator: RBI; Operator: Card networks (RuPay, Visa, Mastercard, AmEx)

44 (True/False) CTS transmits the physical cheque from the presenting bank to the drawee bank?

FALSE — Only the cheque image and MICR data travel; the physical cheque stops at the presenting branch.

45 (True/False) The MICR code line on an Indian cheque has 9 digits split 3-3-3 representing City–Bank–Branch?

TRUE

46 (True/False) RTGS has no minimum amount; you can transfer ₹100 through RTGS?

FALSE — Minimum RTGS remittance is ₹2,00,000.

47 (True/False) NEFT and RTGS are both operated by NPCI?

FALSE — Both are operated by RBI.

48 (True/False) The Positive Pay System became mandatory for cheques of ₹5 lakh and above and was amended on 07 January 2026 to exempt self-presented cheques up to ₹4,99,999?

TRUE

49 (True/False) UPI was launched in April 2016 by NPCI?

TRUE

50 (True/False) IMPS works only during banking hours and is closed on Sundays?

FALSE — IMPS is 24×7×365 including bank holidays.

51 (True/False) NACH has subsumed the legacy ECS for bulk, repetitive transactions?

TRUE

52 (True/False) SFMS uses PGP keys for authentication?

FALSE — SFMS uses X.509 digital certificates.

53 (True/False) The National Financial Switch (NFS) was originally developed by IDRBT in 2004 and handed over to NPCI in December 2009?

TRUE

54 (True/False) RuPay was launched by NPCI on 26 March 2012?

TRUE

55 (True/False) ECS Credit is used when a service provider regularly debits a customer's account for utility bills?

FALSE — That is ECS Debit. ECS Credit is for bulk credits like dividends and salary.

56 (True/False) Under RTGS, banks may charge customers up to ₹50 + GST per online transaction?

FALSE — Online RTGS/NEFT charges have been waived since January 2020.

57 (True/False) The Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 empowers RBI to authorise and regulate every payment system in India?

TRUE

58 (True/False) Bharat QR is a one-dimensional bar-code printed in colour for merchant identification?

FALSE — It is a two-dimensional, black-and-white machine-readable code.

59 RTGS minimum = ₹2,00,000 — Where Used / Where (definition)?

Where Used: Eligibility check for RTGS; Where (definition): Below this use IMPS / NEFT

60 RTGS maximum = No upper ceiling — Where Used / Where (definition)?

Where Used: Large-value corporate / Govt remittances

61 NEFT min / max = No limits — Where Used / Where (definition)?

Where Used: Retail funds transfer; Where (definition): Bank may set internal cap

62 IMPS per-txn cap = ₹5,00,000 — Where Used / Where (definition)?

Where Used: Instant 24×7 transfer (NPCI ceiling); Where (definition): Bank may set lower

63 UPI general cap = ₹1,00,000 / txn — Where Used / Where (definition)?

Where Used: Default P2P / P2M; Where (definition): Bank-specific

64 UPI capital-market / insurance / hospital / education cap = ₹5,00,000 / txn; ₹10,00,000 / day — Where Used / Where (definition)?

Where Used: High-value UPI use-cases; Where (definition): NPCI category enhancement

65 UPI first-24-hour new-user cap = ₹5,000 cumulative — Where Used / Where (definition)?

Where Used: Fraud control for fresh registrations; Where (definition): NPCI rule

66 PPS mandatory threshold = ₹5,00,000 + — Where Used / Where (definition)?

Where Used: Drawer pre-confirmation of cheque details; Where (definition): RBI circular, effective 01 Jan 2021; amended 07 Jan 2026

67 PPS optional band = ₹50,000 – ₹4,99,999 — Where Used / Where (definition)?

Where Used: Customer can opt-in

68 PPS self-presentation exemption up to ₹4,99,999 — Where Used / Where (definition)?

Where Used: 07 Jan 2026 amendment; Where (definition): Account holder / authorised signatory present at branch

69 MICR structure = 3 (City) + 3 (Bank) + 3 (Branch) = 9 digits — Where Used / Where (definition)?

Where Used: Cheque code line; Where (definition): Bottom of every Indian cheque

70 Offline RTGS branch cap = ₹24.50 + GST (₹2-5 L) / ₹49.50 + GST ( > ₹5 L) — Where Used / Where (definition)?

Where Used: Customer service charges; Where (definition): Online RTGS = free

71 Same-day cheque clearance under CTS?

RBI has accelerated the CTS clearing cycle towards T+0 through the year 2026, with several large banks (ICICI, HDFC, SBI, Axis) offering same-day clearance for CTS-2010 standard cheques presented before the cut-off.

One-linersElectronic Clearing and Settlement Systems