RBI has changed the rules for NACH with effect from August 1, 2021, which will enable the processing of payments such as salaries and pension even on weekends when banks are closed
Come August 1 and you will no longer have to wait for a day for transactions such as salary or pension transfer and EMI payments in case these are due on a weekend. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has changed the rules of the National Automated Clearing House (NACH) which will come into effect from the first day of August 2021.
As per new norms, NACH, which facilitates movements of payments, will function for all seven days of the week irrespective of bank holidays. Due to this, payments such as salary and pensions can be transferred on weekends as opposed to now when the facility is available only when banks are open i.e Monday to Friday.
Currently, the first day of the month sometimes falls on a weekend due to which the salary is delayed for the next working day to get the money credited into their accounts.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das during the central bank’s credit policy review last month had announced several key financial, economic measures amid the pandemic. Among other measures, Das announced 24×7 availability of RTGS and NACH from August 1, 2021.
NACH, a bulk payment system operated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), facilitates one-to-many credit transfers such as payment of dividend, interest, salary, pension, etc and the collection of payments pertaining to electricity, gas, telephone, water, periodic instalments towards loans, investments in mutual funds, insurance premium etc.
NACH has emerged as a popular and prominent mode of direct benefit transfer (DBT) to large number of beneficiaries. This has helped the transfer of government subsidies during the present COVID-19 in a timely and transparent manner. In order to further enhance customer convenience, and to leverage the 24×7 availability of RTGS, NACH which is currently available on bank working days, is proposed to be made available on all days of the week effective from August 1, 2021.
