IFSC – The Armor of Online Fund Transfer

Banking Goes Online

Years of innovation have finally paid off as banking worldwide has finally reached a point when cashless transactions have become the norm. With inventions like e-wallets, credit cards, mobile banking, net banking, electronic fund transfer and more, carrying cash has become passé. Cashless banking has created nothing but an all-round win-win situation for everyone involved. We save on time, otherwise spent on making trips to the bank; the risk factor has been drastically reduced as money is not changing hands physically but electronically and not to forget, the trees all around are thanking us for going online as well.   

IFSC

From the spectrum of banking services which have gone online, fund transfer is probably one of the most crucial banking services which people stand to benefit from. In India, where financial crimes are rampant, online fund transfer may be considered as a beacon of hope to bring down the risk factor surrounding monetary transactions. The credit for revolutionizing the process of online fund transfer in India lies with the Reserve Bank of India, which has introduced the IFSC (Indian Financial System Code) to the NEFT (National Electronic fund Transfer) and the RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) systems of electronic fund transfer.  

About IFSC

The IFSC (Indian Financial System Code) is an 11-digit alphanumeric code which is issued by the RBI to all banks who are under the NEFT (National Electronic Fund Transfer) and RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) network. Serving a crucial role in the electronic payment system, the IFSC code comprises of 3 parts. First four characters stand for the bank name, the fifth character is always zero and the remaining 6 characters represent the branch address. For instance, let us take the example of the Yes Bank Dwarka branch IFSC code which is YESB0000263. In this 11-digit code, the first 4 characters - ‘YESB’ – stand for Yes Bank, the fifth character is 0 and the remaining 6 characters ‘000263’ give the location of the mentioned Yes Bank branch which is located in Dwarka, New Delhi.

Why IFSC is Crucial to Indian Banking

In the Indian banking system, the IFSC code holds a unique position for several reasons.

• Helps Identify Source and Destination Banks

    Each bank participating in the NEFT and RTGS network is issued a unique IFSC code which

    helps identify source and destination banks in the event of a fund transfer.  

• Saves Time

    With the help if the IFSC code, money can be transferred from one bank branch to the  

    other, all the way across states in a matter of a few hours.

• Regulate Monetary Transactions

    Since the IFSC code identifies source and destination banks in an NEFT / RTGS fund

    transfer, it is easier to regulate the authenticity of transactions in case a discrepancy

    arises.

• Eco-friendly Method Of Transferring Funds

The entire process of applying for an NEFT/RTGS transfer to receiving the money can now be conveniently be done online. This in turn has helped save copious amounts of paper which would conventionally be used in the process.

How to Add a Beneficiary in City Union Bank for Online Fund Transfer

City Union Bank Online Funds Transfers

City Union Bank customers looking to add a beneficiary can easily learn to do so using the bank’s online portal. On the homepage of the City Union Bank website, there are demos available for different processes to be done using the web portal. Customers can select the required demo to understand how a particular online procedure works.

On the right side, below the login fields, is a Demo link, which will lead the customer to a webpage containing a list of online banking demos. The customer can choose any demo related to the topic he wants clarity on. After a City Union Bank customer has been directed to the demo list page, he needs to select and click on the ‘Add Beneficiary within CUB’ option which is the second item in the list. Selecting ‘Click here’ will take the customer to a video presentation explaining the addition of beneficiary process in detail.

Steps to add a beneficiary

Customers wanting to understand how they should add a beneficiary for doing money transfers using the City Union Bank website need to follow the below given steps.

• Customers need to login to their personal banking accounts, to transfer funds to a beneficiary. After login, the customer would be taken to his bank account home page to manage his account.
• The account holder needs to click on the ‘main menu’ option on the right top corner of the page. An online banking menu opens up for the customer.
• From the menu options, he needs to select ‘transfers’, which again contains five sub menu options.
• Out of the five options available, customers need to select the ‘Add Beneficiary’ link for any additions to their beneficiaries list.
• A web page opens up with various fields that need to be filled with details of the beneficiary by the account holder.
• First, the nickname selected for the beneficiary needs to entered.
• Then the account details of the beneficiary like the type of account held and the account number has to be filled in the given fields. Beside the account number field is an option got obtaining the account details of the beneficiary. Clicking on ‘Obtain account details’ will open up a pop-up containing the complete account details of the beneficiary. After clicking ‘ok’, the beneficiary name and the beneficiary branch name details will automatically get populated in the respective fields.
• The beneficiary’s address, along with the pincode needs to be entered by the account holder.
• The relationship between the account holder and the beneficiary needs to be selected from the drop down menu available under the ‘Beneficiary Relationship’ field.
• Additionally, the beneficiary’s phone number and email address can also be recorded.
• After filling in all the required fields, the account holder should click on ‘Add’ to move on to the next page. This page will provide him with a consolidated view of all his entries from the previous page.
• After verifying that the details he has entered are correct, the account holder needs to select ‘Confirm’ to add this particular beneficiary.

An acknowledgement page will be available after this step confirming that the entered beneficiary details have been added to his existing list and fund transfers are now possible with this new beneficiary. City Union Bank customers availing the net banking facility can transfer funds to any beneficiary that they have added using the above mentioned process. For example, if a customer wants to transfer funds to a beneficiary holding an account in the T Nagar branch of City Union Bank in Chennai, he needs to be aware of the City Union Bank IFSC code for T Nagar branch in Chennai to successfully complete the transfer.

How Online Banking is Making Life Easier

This is the day and age of the internet, the World Wide Web being a ‘know-it-all’ that has made life simpler to an unbelievable degree. Take banking for instance- before the introduction of the concept of online banking, long queues at the bank counter and rapid loss of patience with the slow moving bank procedures was a common pain. Thankfully, Charles Babbage’s invention jumped in for the rescue.

The Case of the IFSC Codes,

Most of what makes online banking a breeze hinges on the idea of IFSC codes. Two of the most monotonous banking related chores, depositing money into an account and maintaining the smooth functioning of the said account (in terms of regular activity) can now be managed with these simple 11 digit alphanumeric codes. A typical IFSC code comprises of the following components- the first 4 characters denoting the specific name of the bank, the fifth character is always a zero (0) and the final six characters denote the code for this specific branch of the bank in question. Take an IFSC code for a digital visiting card- with clear markings and pointers to help a lender reach a borrower’s bank account, through the online media.

Example of the Works,

Let’s take our good friend, Mr. Yoda, who needs some money to plan a heist on the Empire, and he wants you to help. Yoda’s savings bank account is with the Bank of Maharashtra, Mumbai and you are located in Indiranagar, Bangalore. Distances are never a factor when online banking is an option. Simply, utilise your bank’s online banking interface to forward the requisite monies to Yoda, and feed the IFSC Code for Bank of Maharashtra on your system to correctly identify his account. The transfer is instantaneous, safe and immensely under your control.

Without the IFSC code acting as the digital bridge between your account and Yoda’s, it would be next to impossible to correctly zero-in on the accurate account. That would be a kin to searching for a needle in a haystack, whilst blindfolded and wearing mittens. With this handy keyword, and the infinite possibilities of online banking, the Empire is definitely going down!!

So, Is Online Banking a Boon?

Definitely. In a world that is running 24x7, traditional banking has become redundant and obscure. Online banking, with all its charming bells and whistles is the expected next step. Distances have shrunk, human errors have been eliminated and the boring pilgrimages to the banks have been eradicated thanks to this offspring of emerging technologies and modern banking methodologies. What more can you ask for?

How IFSC Code is Essential to Transfer Money?

Times have changed and so have the ways of transacting. Gone are the days when monetary transactions and fund transfers were done physically with cold hard cash. The virtual world has opened up innovative and time saving ways of carrying out transactions. However, with new ways follow new risks. To eliminate these risks and ensure secure monetary transactions, the Reserve Bank of India employs the system of issuing IFSC Code or Indian Financial System Code.

This is an eleven digit alpha-numeric code used by the Reserve Bank of India to securely enable electronic fund transfers between different banks registered within the NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) network. In addition, this code is also used by electronic payment system applications like RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) and CFMS. Each bank branch carries a unique code, issued to it by the Reserve Bank of India, which helps identify the source and destination banks for monetary transactions.

The eleven digit alpha-numeric code can be divided into three parts. The first 4 characters of the code identify the bank e.g. SBI, ICICI, etc. The fifth character is 0. The last 6 characters represent the branch address. For quick use, these codes can not only be found on the cheque books of any participating bank branch but also available online. For instance, TMBL0000044 is the IFSC code of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, Bangalore city branch located on B.V.K Iyengar Road, which falls under the district of Bangalore, Karnataka.

Each day, millions of transactions take place between different branches of various banks operating within the country, with a high volume of risk involved. This code acts as a safety instrument to not only safeguard but also validate fund transfers. It allows the Reserve Bank of India to channel, oversee and authenticate fund exchanges and transfers

With the IFSC code setup in place for all banks and branches under the NEFT network, the risks involved in virtual monetary transactions have more or less been eliminated. This in turn has made it easier for customers to perform simple banking activities like transferring or depositing money without actually having to visit a bank, making an all round win-win situation for bankers and customers alike!