Consider the following statements in respect of RTGS and NEFT: [Public Finance in India]

I. In RTGS, the settlement time is instantaneous while in case of NEFT, it takes some time to settle payments.

II. In RTGS, the customer is charged for inward transactions while that is not the case for NEFT.

III. Operating hours for RTGS restricted on certain days while this is not true for NEFT.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The correct option is I only.

Let us analyze each statement to understand why only the first statement is correct:

Statement I: In RTGS, the settlement time is instantaneous while in case of NEFT, it takes some time to settle payments.
This statement is correct. RTGS stands for Real Time Gross Settlement. In RTGS, the transaction is processed and settled continuously (in real-time) on a transaction-by-transaction basis. NEFT stands for National Electronic Funds Transfer. NEFT transactions are not settled in real-time; instead, they are processed in batches (normally every half-hour), which means there is a slight delay in the settlement of payments.

Statement II: In RTGS, the customer is charged for inward transactions while that is not the case for NEFT.
This statement is incorrect. As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, no charges can be levied on customers for inward transactions (receiving money) for both RTGS and NEFT. Inward transactions are completely free for the beneficiary in both systems.

Statement III: Operating hours for RTGS restricted on certain days while this is not true for NEFT.
This statement is incorrect. Currently, both RTGS and NEFT services are available 24x7x365. There are no restrictions on operating hours or days (including weekends and holidays) for either of these payment systems.

Therefore, only statement I is correct, making I only the correct choice.