Public sector    State Bank of India (SBI), on January 4 announced it would not levy any service charge on online Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) transactions up to Rs 5 lakh.

Earlier, online IMPS transactions up to Rs 2 lakh were exempted from service charge.

"In an aim to encourage customers to adopt digital banking, SBI has not levied any service charges on IMPS transactions up to Rs 5 lacs, done through internet banking/mobile banking, including YONO," the bank said in a statement.

For IMPS transactions conducted through bank branches, new slab of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh has been added for levying service charge. "The proposed service charges for this slab is Rs 20 + GST," SBI said, adding that this directive will come into effect from February 1, 2022.

Notably, IMPS transactions conducted at bank branch for an amount ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 draw a service charge of Rs 2+GST. If the transaction amount ranges from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1,00,000, a charge of Rs 4+GST is levied. On transactions of amount between Rs 1,00,000 and Rs 2,00,000, a charge of Rs 12+GST is imposed.

The same service charge, as per the above slabs, is levied on NEFT/RTGS transactions through the bank branch.

In comparison to NEFT/RTGS, IMPS is more popular among net-banking users due to its 24x7 availability, and instant domestic funds transfer feature.