Guides to IFSC codes and Indian bank transfers

Short, checked explanations. Every figure here was measured against the RBI branch list we publish, and every rule is quoted from the RBI's own documents with a link.

• Failed NEFT or RTGS: the Rs 100 a day rule does not apply to youThe words NEFT and RTGS appear zero times in the circular everyone cites. The real rules are tighter.
• What happened to Gramin bank IFSC codes after One State One RRBEleven notifications, not twelve. No IFSC list. And the official branch file still names banks that ceased to exist 16 months ago.
• How to find your IFSC code, with or without a cheque bookThe RBI's own IFSC search still works. The URL everyone links to for it does not.
• IFSC vs MICR vs SWIFT: what each code actually doesThe fifth character of an IFSC is not 'reserved for future use'. The RBI has never said that.
• How to check whether an IFSC code is still valid46,719 codes in the RBI list have been withdrawn since 2016. Most lookup sites still show them as working.
• Old IFSC to new IFSC: every merged bank, and the date its codes actually stopped workingThe merger date and the date the codes stopped working are up to 15 months apart. Almost every page online gives you the wrong one.
• What is actually inside the RBI IFSC datasetSixteen columns, 183,214 rows, and four fields that do not mean what their names say.
• Wrong IFSC, wrong account number: what actually happens to your moneyA wrong IFSC usually bounces. A wrong account number usually succeeds — into someone else's account.

Written and maintained by Santosh Rathore. Corrections are welcome — see contact.