IMPS Transfer: Limits, Charges and Timing Explained

IMPS lets you transfer up to ₹5 lakh per transaction instantly, 24 hours a day, on every day of the year including weekends and bank holidays. The minimum is ₹1.

There is no single nationwide daily cap: each bank sets its own daily limit and charges, so your real ceiling depends on your bank and the channel you use.

Quick answer

• Per transaction: up to ₹5 lakh, with a ₹1 minimum, on app and net banking.
• Daily limit: set by each bank, not NPCI, and often lower on the mobile app.
• Timing: instant, 24x7x365, including nights, weekends and holidays.
• Charges: vary by bank, often free online, with 18% GST on the fee only.
• New payee: usually capped around ₹25,000 to ₹50,000 for the first 24 hours.

This guide covers the IMPS transfer limit, bank-wise caps, charges with GST, timing, and the new-beneficiary cooling period.

IMPS, or Immediate Payment Service, is a real-time interbank money transfer system run by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It moves money between two Indian bank accounts within seconds, unlike batch systems that settle in cycles. For a full primer, see what is IMPS.

You can send an IMPS transfer using the beneficiary's account number and IFSC, or using their mobile number and MMID (Mobile Money Identifier). Both routes settle instantly. IMPS sits alongside the other online payment methods Indians use every day.

The NPCI per-transaction limit for IMPS is ₹5 lakh, raised from ₹2 lakh in 2021. That figure applies to internet and mobile banking channels. The SMS and IVR channels carry much lower caps.

The key nuance: the daily limit is set by your bank, not by NPCI, and it often differs by channel. A bank may allow ₹5 lakh per transaction on net banking but cap its mobile app lower. The table below shows typical positions as of 2026. Confirm the current figure with your bank before a large transfer, as these are revised periodically.

If you need to move more than your daily cap allows, split the amount across days, use RTGS for large values, or ask your bank to raise the limit.

When you add a new payee, most banks apply a cooling period. For a set window after adding the beneficiary, often the first 24 hours but sometimes up to 72 hours, transfers to that payee are capped at a lower amount, commonly around ₹25,000 to ₹50,000. Some banks also add a short activation delay before the payee is usable.

This is a security control, not an error. The cap lifts automatically once the cooling period ends, after which you can send up to the full limit. The exact figure and window vary by bank, so check your bank's rules if a large first payment is blocked.

There is no standard IMPS fee across banks. Charges vary, many banks offer free IMPS for smaller online transfers, and 18% GST applies to the fee itself, not to the amount you send. A typical slab structure looks like this:

Worked example: send ₹3,00,000 at a bank that charges ₹15 for that slab. GST at 18% on the ₹15 fee is ₹2.70, so the total cost is ₹17.70. The ₹3,00,000 reaches the beneficiary in full.

Note that some banks revised IMPS charges in 2025 and 2026, so treat these as indicative and confirm your bank's current fee card.

IMPS is instant. Funds typically credit the beneficiary within seconds, and the service runs 24x7x365, including nights, Sundays and public holidays. That round-the-clock availability is the main reason IMPS is used over slower rails for urgent payments.

If a transfer shows as successful but the credit is delayed, it usually settles within a few hours. If it does not, follow the failed-transfer steps below.

You can send an IMPS payment through net banking or your bank's mobile app in a few steps:

• Add the beneficiary: enter their account number and IFSC, or their registered mobile number and 7-digit MMID.
• Wait out any cooling period: a new payee may be capped for the first 24 hours.
• Enter the amount and confirm: authorise with your OTP or MPIN.
• Save the reference: note the transaction reference for tracking, similar to a UTR number.

India has three main interbank transfer rails. The quick rule: IMPS for instant everyday transfers, NEFT for routine payments, RTGS for high-value transfers of ₹2 lakh and above.

For a deeper comparison, see IMPS vs NEFT and our RTGS real time gross settlement guide. If you are choosing between the batch and real-time options, RTGS vs NEFT breaks down the trade-offs.

Note that none of the three work across borders; for that, see UPI international transfer.

This is the most common IMPS problem. If your account is debited but the beneficiary is not credited, the amount is usually auto-reversed within a few hours to a few working days, because the source bank is responsible for a failed transfer.

Steps to resolve it:

• Wait for auto-reversal: most failed IMPS transfers reverse automatically within 24 hours.
• Keep the reference number: you will need it to raise a complaint.
• Raise a dispute with your bank if the amount is not reversed within the stated window.
• Escalate under the RBI Turn Around Time rules, which entitle you to compensation for delayed reversals beyond the prescribed period.

Your IMPS daily limit depends on your account type and channel. To raise it, contact your bank through net banking settings, the mobile app, or a branch request.

Banks may approve higher limits for accounts with a good transaction history or for current accounts used by businesses. Corporate accounts generally carry higher caps than retail savings accounts.

One limit no bank setting can change: IMPS only moves money between two Indian bank accounts. It does not handle international payments. If a client or marketplace overseas needs to pay you, that arrives as a foreign inward remittance through the SWIFT network or a cross-border platform, not IMPS.

For businesses and freelancers receiving money from abroad, the equivalent of a fast, low-cost transfer is a receiving account. With Xflow receiving accounts you share local account details with your overseas client, and the money settles to your Indian bank account the next business day (T+1) at a live mid-market rate. Xflow issues an eFIRA automatically as your compliance proof.

Xflow holds final RBI Payment Aggregator Cross-Border (PA-CB) authorisation for both inbound and outbound payments, settles at the mid-market rate with no markup, and credits funds next business day (T+1). Software firm DevRev saved ₹20 lakh in FX costs after switching from bank wires.

To understand the inbound side, see foreign inward remittance and inward remittance vs outward remittance. You can also estimate your paperwork with the FIRC calculator.