Automated Clearing House (ACH) in India. Kick-off in India.

Automated Clearing House (ACH) in India. Kick-off in India.

The kick-off for another NPCI Mandate i.e launch of ACH has begun.

NPCI has launched a Request for Proposal (RFP) for “Supply, Implementation and Maintenance of Automated Clearing House Solution (ACH) for National Payment Corporation of India”

The scope of ACH is 82,000+ Bank Branches spread all over India.

ACH is primarily designed to handle low value high volume transactions based on electronic files.

The whole RFP process i.e Issuance of Bidding Document to Opening of Technical Bid is expected to be over by 28/09/2011.

AS we are starting from scratch, ideally the transactions should be in real-time mode rather than batch mode.

Real-time mode will be the rule changer  for Payments in our country.

Look forward to more Posts on ACH in this Blog.

ACH’s originated in USA, in the early 1970’s and spread across USA very rapidly.  

31/08/2011 - RTGS/NEFT Closed

31/08/2011 - RTGS/NEFT Closed.
31/08/2011 - IMPS is open

22/08/2011 - Sri Krishna Jayanti/ Janmashtami – RTGS/NEFT is open

22/08/2011 - Sri Krishna Jayanti/ Janmashtami  – RTGS/NEFT is open

Some states in India, have declared a holiday for Janmashtami.  As it is not celebrated on the same day, in all parts of India, in South India, today it was a holiday i.e 21/08/2011.

Hence, RTGS/NEFT is open on 22/08/2011. As is the norm, even if the Branches are closed, the customers will be executing    RTGS/NEFT funds via Internet/Mobile Banking.

The Sri Krishna Jayanti festival is not celebrated on the same day in all parts of India and this is due to the various regional calendars and the various calculations in the time of the birth of Krishna.

In 2011, Sri Krishna Jayanti is marked on August 21 in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and is some parts of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. In North India, it is marked on August 22. The Smarta Tradition observes the festival on August 21 and the Vaishnava Tradition on August 22.

 It is observed as Dahi Handi in Maharashtra, the formation of the huge human pyramids to break the pot hung high up. 

In different states, Janmashtami is celebrated in their unique style. The common thread joining all the states is the pomp associated with the celebrations.

Discretion to customers for selection between RTGS and NEFT – Is it required?

Discretion to customers for selection between RTGS and NEFT – Is it required?

This was waiting to happen. RTGS and NEFT have similar objectives; though a close observations of the same, show that both are different.

Apart from the charges, RTGS is Gross Settlement, whereas NEFT is Batch Settlement. I am sure, by now the Bank customers are familiar with the basic differences between RTGS and NEFT.

As the end goal of RTGS and NEFT was the same i.e movement of funds from one Bank Account to another Bank Account, the customer was not provided the choice to choose between RTGS and NEFT.

Majority of the times, the discretion was with the Bank, either to route it through RTGS or NEFT. This is more so, in case of Internet/Mobile Banking.

To enable the customer to decide the mode of funds transfer between RTGS and NEFT, RBI today released a Notification, stating that the customer should have the option to choose between RTGS and NEFT, at the time of initiation of the funds transfer.

The RBI Notification No is: RBI/2011-12/152 DPSS (CO) EPPD No./274/04.03.01/2011-12 dt. August 12, 2011

The RBI notification can be accessed @

http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=6672&Mode=0  

The Banks participating in RTGS/NEFT have been requested to ensure compliance as per the above notification.

There will be a huge impact for the Banks, as the IT infrastructure has to be suitably modified.

The IT Application’s have to be mainly modified in the area of Internet/Mobile Banking arena.

There will be minimal impact on transactions routed through the Branch Desk, as the Desk Officer, can initiate the funds transfer as per customer request. 

Only in case of automated transactions, appropriate modification in the IT Application will be required.  

In the long run, such discretion will aid in increasing the flow of transactions to RTGS/NEFT

RTGS/NEFT working on 13/08/2011

RTGS/NEFT working on 13/08/2011

This year, Raksha Bandhan i.e the festival of  tying of a rakhi, or holy thread, by the sister on the wrist of her brother falls on 13/08/2011

   Rakshan Bandhan is predominantly a North Indian festivial, though with the globalization winds, it has spread to other parts of the country too.

      Raksha Bandhan  is a festival primarily observed in North India, which celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters.

       Banks in North India are closed for Raksha Bandhan. However, RTGS/NEFT will be functioning on 13/08/2011. So, Bank Customers with online/mobile banking facilities will be able to carry out RTGS/NEFT transactions. But, remember it is a Saturday, so it will be a half-day for the RTGS/NEFT.

       However, 14^th August, 2011 (Sunday) and 15^th August 12, 2011(Monday), Banks will be closed Pan-India, and for business folks it will be a 3 day bank holiday. A long weekend ahead. The clearing cheques will be stuck in the clearing cycle and the fate will be known late Tuesday evening.

     The festival is observed by Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims. The central ceremony involves the tying of a rakhi (sacred thread) by a sister on her brother's wrist. This symbolizes the sister's love and prayers for her brother's well-being, and the brother's lifelong vow to protect her. 

      The festival falls on the full moon day (Shravan Poornima) of the Shravan month of the Hindu lunisolar calendar. It grew in popularity after Rani Karnavati, the widowed queen of Chittor, sent a rakhi to the Mughal emperor Humayun when she required his help.

     Unrelated boys and men who are considered to be brothers (munh-bola bhai or adopted brothers) can also be tied rakhis, provided they commit to a lifelong obligation to provide protection to the woman or girl.

     This is becoming a common feature in Colleges and also symbolically the Rakhis are tied to political leaders too.