IMPS transferred in April dive to 2-year low

The economic impact of the lockdown is reflected in the sharp drop in retail interbank transfers under the Immediate Payment System (IMPS). Transactions using this platform in April at 12.2 crore were half of the 24.7 crore transactions in February 2020.

This platform is used in a big way by migrant labour and small businesses.

Transactions using the IMPS platform in April stood at 12.2 crore, while 24.7 crore transactions were done in February 2020.

The platform is used mostly by migrant labour and small businesses.

In the case of Unified Payment Interface (UPI), an app-based payment, there has been a significant drop as well from 132 crore in February to less than 100 crore in April.

As the limit of IMPS is Rs.2 lakh, it is mostly used by small businesses.

More than the limit, one has to use RTGS. Hence, larger corporates and mid-cap companies prefer RTGS for bulk payments such as salary credits to employees and vendor payment.