.svg)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated that all banks connected to two major funds transfers systems must introduce a beneficiary account name look-up facility by April 1, 2025.
Last week, the RBI issued a directive to all banks that participate in India’s Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) systems.
The directive calls on these banks to implement an account name look-up service that can be used via mobile and internet banking applications, and when visiting a branch in person.
The solution implemented should be based on the account number and the Indian Financial System Code (IFSC) of the beneficiary.
An IFSC is an 11-digit alphanumeric code unique to each bank branch in India, which is used for online money transfers through NEFT, RTGS and the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS).
Based on the account number and the IFSC, the facility should identify the beneficiary’s account name using the receiving bank’s core banking solution.
Both the sending and receiving banks must preserve detailed records of all name look-up queries made and responses received, and the service should be made available to customers free of charge.
Sudhanshu Prasad, chief general manager of the RBI, noted that the directive will bring the RTGS and NEFT in line with IMPS and Unified Payment Interface (UPI), which already have facilities that allow senders to verify the names of beneficiaries before initiating transfers.
As with similar services in other countries, such as the UK’s Confirmation of Payee (CoP), the sender may continue with the transfer even if the facility cannot find an exact match for the intended beneficiary.
