IFSC is an abbreviation which stands for Indian Financial System Code. India's banking system usually uses the IFSC code as a unique identifier.
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Various banks in the country often use it to transact money online in transactions done through systems that include Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS). It’s crucial for you to have access to the receiving bank’s IFSC code for you to transfer money from one Indian bank to another. Additionally, the code contains eleven characters which entails different pieces of information concerning every bank, specifications of the bank and its geographical location.
In this article, we will explore different details of IFSC code from its definition, its format, how it’s used among others.
What Is An IFSC Code?
IFSC code is an Indian Financial System code which contains 11 unique characters that is used in facilitating the transfer of money online. (e.g. ICIC0000337)
Who Issues IFSC Codes in India?
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the bank responsible for issuing IFSC Codes in India. If various branches of banks within India wish to participate in major Indian e- banking systems and electronic payments systems like Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), the RBI usually assigns unique IFSC Codes to the branches globally.
Furthermore, the RBI usually ensures that the database of all the IFSC Codes issued to all the banks is up to date. This characteristic makes any bank or branch in India to consider the RBI IFSC Code as an accurate and reliable source of information in terms of IFSC Codes.
What is the Format of an IFSC Code?
An IFSC Code comprises eleven alphanumeric characters. The first four characters are letters that show the name and identity of the specific bank whereas the last six characters are alphanumeric or numeric characters which are unique and are used to identify a specific bank. The fifth character in the code is usually zero and it has no difference from one code to another.
To elaborate on the information given above, if the IFSC Code is XXXXYZZZZZZ, then the characters would be interpreted as:
The first four characters (i.e XXXX), usually represent the bank code.
The fifth character (i.e Y), is usually reserved for future use but not current use. It's always a 0 (zero) according to the current format of IFSC.
The last six characters (i.e. ZZZZZZ), represent the code of the specific branch bank.
This uniqueness of IFSC codes plays a crucial role for banks in identifying and differentiating between various branches within the same bank as well as ensuring that money goes to the right bank. For you to make payments or carry out transactions safely without encountering any problems, it’s important that you double-check the details of the bank which include the IFSC code, the bank’s location and the bank’s name as well.
The first four characters (i.e XXXX), usually represent the bank code.
The fifth character (i.e Y), is usually reserved for future use but not current use. It's always a 0 (zero) according to the current format of IFSC.
The last six characters (i.e. ZZZZZZ), represent the code of the specific branch bank.
How Can You Send Money within India Using an IFSC Code?
To send money within India using IFSC Code, you need to add a beneficiary in your online banking portal. You also need to provide the IFSC code for their bank and after completing these, you are capable of transferring money to the preferred recipient with ease. Some banks in India have screens that help and guide you the entire process.
How Can You Send Money to India from Overseas Using an IFSC Code?
If you want to send money to India from overseas, you can use the IFSC code to link up your recipient’s bank account. To send the money, here’s a simple process to facilitate the transaction:
Select to pay your recipient in India using a bank deposit account.
Enter their IFSC Code as well as providing bank details to your money transfer company. This will require you to fill in the bank address and other necessary information which ensures that the transaction being conducted is more secure and error free.
IFSC Codes serves as a reliable means as it simplifies the process of sending money to Indian bank accounts from overseas as well as within India.
Select to pay your recipient in India using a bank deposit account.
Enter their IFSC Code as well as providing bank details to your money transfer company. This will require you to fill in the bank address and other necessary information which ensures that the transaction being conducted is more secure and error free.
Benefits Of Using IFSC Codes For Online Banking
One of the major and outstanding advantages of IFSC Codes is that they enable you to quickly and accurately identify a bank and its branch during transactions. As a result, this minimizes the risk of committing errors and help to facilitate the banking process to be faster, safe and reliable. Additionally, using IFSC Code for online banking has other various benefits which include:
Unique identification of bank - IFSC Code consists of a unique identification code for a specific bank branch registered with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which enables you to identify one bank from another and makes it secure and error-free.
Easy to use - IFSC Code enables you to transfer money, pay your bills among other transactions without necessarily visiting the bank and therefore saves time.
Provision of data security - All the IFSC codes are issued by the RBI globally to each bank or branch and online transactions can make use of the IFSC Code without necessitating full bank details and this offers security to data.
Universal acceptance - All banks and other financial institutions use the IFSC Codes and are registered under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) making it easier to carry out online banking across all parts of India.
Economical - Using IFSC Codes saves you the costs of carrying out manual transactions and the costs of traveling from one place to another.
Unique identification of bank - IFSC Code consists of a unique identification code for a specific bank branch registered with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which enables you to identify one bank from another and makes it secure and error-free.
Easy to use - IFSC Code enables you to transfer money, pay your bills among other transactions without necessarily visiting the bank and therefore saves time.
Provision of data security - All the IFSC codes are issued by the RBI globally to each bank or branch and online transactions can make use of the IFSC Code without necessitating full bank details and this offers security to data.
Universal acceptance - All banks and other financial institutions use the IFSC Codes and are registered under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) making it easier to carry out online banking across all parts of India.
Economical - Using IFSC Codes saves you the costs of carrying out manual transactions and the costs of traveling from one place to another.
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