Glossary · Banking & Finance
IMPS
Immediate Payment Service — a real-time inter-bank electronic fund transfer service available 24x7, including holidays.
IMPS was launched in 2010 by NPCI and is the underlying rail for many mobile-banking transfers and UPI. Transactions are capped at ₹5 lakh per transaction. IMPS uses MMID (Mobile Money Identifier) and mobile number for P2P transfers, or account number and IFSC for P2A transfers. Funds are credited within seconds. IMPS is faster than NEFT and cheaper than RTGS for high-value transfers, although RTGS is preferred for amounts above ₹2 lakh in the B2B space.
Examples
A customer transfers ₹50,000 to a friend's account at 11 PM using mobile banking, and the money arrives within 10 seconds via IMPS.