The Immediate Payment Service, known as IMPS, is an instant interbank money transfer system in India that runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year, moving up to ₹5 lakh per transaction in seconds. It’s managed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and regulated by the Reserve Bank of India.1NPCI. Overview IMPS You can send money through your bank’s mobile app, net banking, an ATM, or even a basic SMS, using either the recipient’s mobile number or their account details.
Unlike batch-based systems, IMPS settles each transaction individually the moment you authorize it.2Oracle Help Center. IMPS Overview The recipient sees the money almost immediately, whether it’s a weekday afternoon or 2 a.m. on a national holiday.
How to Send Money Through IMPS
There are two ways to address a transfer, and the one you pick determines what information you need.
Person-to-Person (P2P) Using Mobile Number and MMID
You send money using the recipient’s registered mobile number and a 7-digit Mobile Money Identifier (MMID). The MMID links that phone number to a specific bank account, so you don’t need to know account numbers or branch codes.3YES BANK. IMPS Person to Person You can generate your own MMID through your bank’s mobile app or by sending a specific SMS code to your bank as a one-time setup.
Person-to-Account (P2A) Using Account Number and IFSC
You send money directly to a bank account using the recipient’s full name, complete account number, and their branch’s IFSC (Indian Financial System Code).4DBS Bank. What is IMPS? Meaning, Benefits and Charges The IFSC is an 11-character code, and a single wrong character routes the payment to a different branch. This is the more common method for higher-value transfers and any time you want a clear paper trail.
Getting these details exactly right matters more with IMPS than with slower systems. Because the transfer settles instantly, a wrong number sends your money to the wrong person in seconds, and recovering it becomes a formal dispute with no guaranteed outcome.
Channels You Can Use
Most people initiate IMPS through their bank’s mobile app or net banking portal. You open the fund transfer section, choose IMPS, pick P2P or P2A, enter the recipient’s details and the amount, and confirm on the review screen. Authorization uses a second layer of security, either an OTP sent by SMS or your transaction PIN (often called MPIN).5ADC Bank. IMPS – Immediate Payment Service Once you submit, the system processes through the NPCI gateway in seconds and returns a confirmation screen with a unique reference number. Save that number. It’s your proof of payment and the key identifier if you ever need to raise a dispute.
Some banks let you start an IMPS transfer at an ATM. You insert your debit card, select IMPS, enter the beneficiary’s mobile number and MMID with the amount, and confirm with your ATM PIN. This channel is usually limited to P2P transfers, and per-transaction caps may be lower.
A few banks support IMPS by SMS, and you can also dial *99# from any phone, including a feature phone, to reach IMPS through the USSD channel. These options are useful without a smartphone or reliable internet, though transaction limits tend to be significantly lower.
One boundary to note: IMPS originally supported merchant payments, but NPCI discontinued that function after UPI took over the merchant space.6World Bank. World Bank FPS India IMPS and UPI Case Study To pay a business, use UPI.
Transaction Limits
NPCI caps IMPS at ₹5 lakh per transaction, and the minimum is ₹1.1NPCI. Overview IMPS At many banks, ₹5 lakh is also the daily ceiling.
Individual banks set their own limits within that cap, and they vary widely by channel and account type. ICICI Bank permits up to ₹20 lakh per day for P2A transfers through its mobile app, while capping MMID-based transfers at ₹10,000.7ICICI Bank. Charges Limits Timings Central Bank of India caps both per-transaction and per-day amounts at ₹5 lakh with no limit on the number of transactions.8Central Bank of India. IMPS
If a transfer gets rejected, check your bank’s specific limits for the channel you’re using. The cap through net banking may differ from the cap through the mobile app, and both may differ from what you’d get at an ATM.
Fees
IMPS charges aren’t standardized. Each bank publishes its own schedule, most add GST on top, and fees typically scale with the amount. HDFC Bank’s online IMPS pricing as of August 2025 shows the usual pattern:9HDFC Bank. IMPS Fees and Charges
- Up to ₹1,000: ₹2.50 + GST
- ₹1,001 to ₹1 lakh: ₹5 + GST
- Above ₹1 lakh: ₹15 + GST
Other banks price differently. SBI waives IMPS fees for transfers through net banking and its YONO app, and charges only for branch-initiated transactions (up to ₹20 plus GST for amounts above ₹2 lakh). Some banks give senior citizen discounts, and premium account packages often include free IMPS regardless of amount. Check your bank’s schedule of charges before assuming you’ll pay.
When to Use IMPS Instead of NEFT, RTGS, or UPI
NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) processes in half-hour batches, so money can take up to two hours to arrive. It runs 24/7, and RBI imposes no minimum or maximum, though banks may set their own ceilings.10Reserve Bank of India. National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) System FAQs Many banks made NEFT free for online channels, which makes it useful when a short delay doesn’t matter.
RTGS (Real-Time Gross Settlement) handles high-value transfers. The minimum is ₹2 lakh with no upper cap, and each transaction settles individually in real time, typically within 30 minutes.11Reserve Bank of India. Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System FAQs It’s the only real-time option for amounts above ₹5 lakh.
UPI (Unified Payments Interface) dominates everyday payments: shopping, bills, small peer-to-peer transfers. The standard cap is ₹1 lakh per transaction for regular transfers, with higher ceilings up to ₹5 lakh for categories like tax payments, insurance premiums, education, and healthcare. UPI needs a smartphone app.
IMPS fills the gap between UPI and RTGS. It’s the best fit for instant transfers between ₹1 lakh and ₹5 lakh, and it works on feature phones through SMS and USSD, which UPI can’t do. For amounts under ₹1 lakh with a smartphone, UPI is usually more convenient and often free. Above ₹5 lakh, RTGS is the only real-time path.
When Transfers Fail or Go to the Wrong Account
If your account is debited but the recipient’s account isn’t credited, the beneficiary bank must auto-reverse the transaction by T+1 day, meaning the business day after the transaction. If the reversal takes longer, the bank owes you ₹100 for each day of delay, credited automatically without any claim from you.12Reserve Bank of India. Harmonisation of Turn Around Time (TAT) and Customer Compensation for Failed Transactions Using Authorised Payment Systems
Money sent to the wrong account is a different problem. The funds actually land in someone else’s account, and there’s no automatic reversal. Recovery depends on the recipient’s cooperation. Act immediately: call your bank, follow up in writing, and give them the transaction reference number, amount, time, and incorrect beneficiary details. Ask your bank to coordinate with the beneficiary’s bank to request a reversal. The beneficiary bank can approach the unintended recipient but can only reverse the transfer with that person’s consent. Speed matters. The sooner you report, the better the chance that the funds haven’t already been withdrawn.
If your bank doesn’t resolve the issue within 30 days, you can file a complaint under the RBI’s Integrated Ombudsman Scheme at no cost. Submit online at cms.rbi.org.in, by email at crpc@rbi.org.in, or by post to the RBI’s Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre in Chandigarh. You must file within one year of your bank’s response, or within one year and 30 days if your bank never responded.13Reserve Bank of India. The Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021
Protecting Yourself from Fraud
IMPS transfers are irreversible once completed, which is why scammers target the system. Common attacks include phishing emails that mimic bank sites, vishing calls from someone posing as a bank officer asking for your OTP or MPIN, and smishing texts with links to fake verification pages.
One rule stops most IMPS fraud: your bank will never call, text, or email asking for your OTP, MPIN, or full login credentials. Anyone creating urgency, claiming your account will be blocked or that a payment will fail, is almost certainly running a scam. If something feels off, hang up and call your bank using the number on its official website or the back of your debit card.
If you spot an unauthorized transaction, report it to your bank within three working days. Under RBI rules, your liability is zero when the fraud results from the bank’s own security failure or a third-party breach that wasn’t your fault, as long as you notify the bank within that three-day window.13Reserve Bank of India. The Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021 After that window closes, your exposure rises sharply, so watching your transaction alerts is your first line of defense.