Interbank Mobile Payment System (IMPS) is a new service that is set to revolutionise the retail money payment sector in India. With this Service all the registered Consumers will be able to transfer money instanlty from their accounts to any other account in the country using their cellphones via IMPS.

INLINE FACTS

• IMPS offers an instant, 24X7, interbank electronic fund transfer service through mobile phones.
• IMPS facilitate customers to use mobile instruments as a channel for accessing their bank accounts and put high interbank fund transfers in a secured manner with immediate confirmation features.
• Customer need to have mobile number linked with his account and a Mobile Money Identifier (MMID).
• Mobile Money Identifier (MMID) is a unique seven digit identifier linked with every saving or current account.
• To transfer fund to any person, customer required to know his mobile number and MMID.
• To acquiare an MMID Customer needs to visit the branch and give the request. User then will receive sms containing MMID.

WHY IMPS?

Before IMPS system, the transactions could be done either by NEFT or by RTGS. But these were bound of timing. So NPCI along with some banks like SBI, BOI, UBI and ICICI in 2010 conducted a pilot study to create a system that works 24×7. As a result, IMP public launch happened on 22nd November 2010 by Smt. Shyamala Gopinath, DG RBI at Mumbai and this service is now available to the Indian public.

OBJECTIVES OF IMPS

• To make the payment simpler just with the use of the mobile number.
• To be customer friendly so that customers do not have to wait for tomorrow to make remittances.
• To build the foundation for a full range of mobile-based Banking services.
• To achieve digitization in doing retail payments.

SOME FAQs

How does this transfer happen in real time?
Banks have set up a system with other participating banks, in association with the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), to enable real-time fund transfers between banks.

Can I send or receive money at any time and on any day using IMPS?
IMPS transactions are not bound by any timing or holidays; you can send and receive money 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

Can I send and receive money using a mobile number other than one registered with the bank?
You can send and receive funds using a mobile number that has been registered with the bank only.

Is there any difference between Immediate Payment Service and Interbank Mobile Payment System?
No, the latter is a part of the earlier one.

Does the customer need to have a bank account for availing IMPS?
Yes, the customer needs to have a bank account with the bank which has enabled this facility.

Is there an amount limit for the participating banks for their transactions?
Yes, the limit allocated to the banks is called Net Debit Cap (NDC). The NDC calculated by NPCI at any instant for the IMPS will be net of total outward and inward for the day. This is the maximum allowable debt for a particular bank for a day. This value is decided on the basis of the participating bank’s contribution to the Settlement Guarantee Fund.

References: Wikipedia, NPCI (official site)