NACH CREDIT FAQs

NACH Debit is the product of NPCI to provide a better & efficient Mandate based debit services to the banks. Following are the key features of the NACH Debit:

Automated processing and exchange of mandate information electronically with welldefined timelines for acknowledgement/confirmation.

Each mandate needs to be accepted/authorized by the debtor bank before the User can initiate a transaction

Each mandate is uniquely identified by Unique Mandate Reference Number (UMRN) which makes tracking of multiple mandate details easier for customers.

Defined and agreed SLA’s to be implemented-provide Governance model and defined timelines for mandate processing.

Enable the usage of standardized Mandate Forms.

Mandate repository containing Mandate details to be maintained for the purpose of validating mandate UMRN available on the NACH transaction files, at the time of NACH transaction processing.

MMS would allow processing of debtor and creditor initiated mandates.

MMS would allow processing of e-mandates as well as paper mandates, where emandates would consist of only data file upload while paper mandates would consist of mandate image and Data file uploads. E-mandates can be initiated only by a debtor bank.

Bank can leverage on the existing CTS instrument scanning infrastructure for scanning and maintaining repository of the mandates images.

The UMRN is generated immediately after the initiating bank/party creates the mandate using a GUI or the xml file upload. The ACK/NACK file generated immediately after mandate submission will reflect the UMRN.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has implemented an electronic payment service termed as “National Automated Clearing House (NACH)” for banks, financial institutions, Corporates and Government Departments. NACH has both Debit and Credit variants. NACH (Debit) & NACH (Credit) aims at facilitating interbank, high volume, debit/credit transactions, which are bulk and repetitive in nature.

NACH Credit is an electronic payment service used by an institution for affording credits to a large number of beneficiaries in their bank accounts for the payment of dividend, interest, salary, pension etc. by raising a single debit to the bank account of the user institution.

Yes. NPCI offers 2 variants of NACH Credit. One variant is available in 156 character file format (similar to NECS file format) and the other variant is available in 306 file format.

Functions on ISO20022 Messaging Standard.

Online Dispute Management System (DMS).

Transaction files status tracking with ACK/NACK.

Allows multiple file processing in a single settlement.

Allows partial file processing resulting in reduced operational efforts.

Availability of Recall option before the settlement of the transaction.

Scalable system with capacity to process 10 million transactions per day.

Scope of services encompass beyond the existing 90 ECS clearing centers.

Secure web access for file upload/download, dissuading the concept of regional NCC/Clearing House submissions.

Allows corporate clients to directly upload files using the Direct Corporate Access (DCA) facility with sponsor bank control.

Corporates can get direct access of the NACH Credit using the DCA facility, making it easier to check the status of their transactions without delay.

Some of the benefits of NACH Credit but not limited to include:

Customized MIS to banks.

Scope of multiple intra-day sessions.

Digitally secured transaction files with 4 eye concept.

Reduced operational cost for the banks and its customers.

Allows online end to end monitoring of the transaction files.

Online Dispute Management System (DMS) allows tracking of the transaction dispute.

Standardization of the process allowing complete audit trail of the transaction lifecycle for a period of 10 years.

DCA facility leads to reduction in workload of the sponsor banks, since the file upload will be done by the corporates themselves.

Effective relationship management with banks as well as corporate customers resulting in enhanced customer service and support.

Following are the system requirements for using the NACH Credit service:

PC with dual core processor & 2GB RAM.

JRE (Java Runtime Environment) – JRE 6.

Browser – Internet Explorer (IE) 8+, Firefox (latest).

MIS reports are compatible in Internet Explorer (32 bit) Browser, IE 8 and IE 9.

Operating System – Windows XP or any other OS which supports the required browser and e-token drivers.

Yes. Banks and Corporates willing to participate in NACH Credit need to comply with the following requirements as well:

Network connectivity with NPCI (NPCINet or Internet connectivity)

Public Static IP Address for Internet connectivity

Digital Signature Certificate (Class 2 or Class 3)

Signing Tool

Yes. NPCI facilitates the participation of Corporates on NACH Credit through the Direct Corporate Access (DCA) module with sponsor bank’s control.

Yes. Banks need to get connected to NPCI for accessing the NACH application. NPCI allows the access of NACH application to the participating banks either through NPCINet or Internet.

Yes. Corporates need to get connected to NPCI for accessing the NACH application. NPCI allows the access of NACH application to the corporates through Internet.

Yes. Banks require Class 2 Digital Signature Certificates for the individual users. The same can be procured from any of the authorised CAs. Digital Signature Certificate is required for digitally signing the NACH Credit files. In case of Host to Host (H2H) integration, Banks need to procure Class 3 Digital Signature Certificates for the servers.

Yes. Corporates require Class 2 Digital Signature Certificates for the individual users. The same can be procured from any of the authorised CAs. Digital Signature Certificate is required for digitally signing the NACH Credit files.

Yes. Banks require a Signing Tool enabled with PKCS#7 algorithm to participate in NACH Credit.

Yes. Corporates require a Signing Tool enabled with PKCS#7 algorithm to participate in NACH Credit.

Signing Tool is used for the encryption and decryption of the transaction files which are uploaded/download in the NACH Credit. The Signing Tool should be configured with RAW or PKCS#7 algorithm.

The session timings for NACH Credit (156 character file format) and NACH Credit (306 character file format) are as follows:

NACH Credit (156 Character File Format) Presentation and Return Timings:

NACH Credit (306 Character File Format) Presentation and Return Timings:

The settlement for NACH Credit (156 character file format) takes place on T-7 basis. The input files for NACH Credit (156 character file format) are accepted till the previous day for the next day settlement, while the returns would happen on the settlement date. The settlement for NACH Credit (306 character file format) takes place on T+0 basis.

No. NACH Credit does not work on all days. NACH Credit remains close on Sundays and RTGS holidays declared by Reserve Bank of India from time to time.

The settlement for NACH Credit (156 character file format) takes place in the current account of the participating banks which maintained with Deposit Accounts Department (DAD), RBI, Mumbai. The settlement for NACH Credit (306 character file format) takes place in the RTGS account of the participating banks maintained with Deposit Accounts Department (DAD), RBI, Mumbai.

Yes. NPCI permits the banks not having Current Account or RTGS account with RBI to participate in NACH Credit through the sub-membership model.

Yes. NPCI permits the participation of sub-member banks in NACH Credit through their sponsor banks using the sub-membership model.

For the purpose of participation, all the transaction files pertaining to sub-member bank will be uploaded/received directly by the sub-member bank itself through the NACH application. However, the settlement of the transactions will take place in the settlement account of its sponsor bank.

Sub-member banks directly upload/receive the NACH Credit transaction files through the NACH application. However, the settlement of the transactions will take place in the settlement account of its sponsor bank.

For participation in NACH Credit, the sub-member bank needs to get connected to NPCI for accessing the NACH application. NPCI allows the access of NACH application to the participating banks either through NPCINet or Internet. Once the connectivity is established, sub-member bank can directly upload/receive the NACH Credit transaction files.

The role of Sponsor Bank in NACH Credit for its sub-member banks is limited to the settlement of the NACH Credit transactions. The settlement of NACH Credit transactions pertaining to the sub-member bank takes place in the settlement account of its sponsor bank. However, the sub-member banks directly upload/receive the NACH Credit transaction files through the NACH application.

NPCI provides settlement reports both to the Sponsor Bank as well as sub-member bank to ascertain their settlement positions.

Banks can get connected with NPCI either through NPCINet or Internet for participation in NACH Credit.

Yes. Internet connectivity is completely safe for participation in NACH Credit. For the purpose of participation in NACH Credit through Internet, participating banks needs to share a public static IP address with NPCI. This public static IP address is enabled in the NPCI firewall.

Direct member banks willing to participate in NACH Credit needs to execute the following set of documents with NPCI.

Letter of Authority

Direct Bank Participation Application Form

User Registration Application Form

MICR Code Confirmation Letter

NARF (NACH Access Registration Form)

Escalation Matrix

Bank Master

DMS Form

Sub-member banks willing to participate in NACH Credit needs to execute the following set of documents with NPCI.

Letter from Sponsor Bank

Indirect Bank Participation Application Form

User Registration Application Form

NARF (NACH Access Registration Form)

MICR Code Confirmation Letter

Escalation Matrix

Bank Master

DMS Form

Banks need to share Public Static IP address with NPCI for accessing the NACH Credit through Internet. The Public Static IP address is enabled in the firewall of NPCI in order to allow the banks to access NACH System through Internet.

Banks willing to participate in NACH Credit needs to comply with the following:

Prescribed System Requirements

Execute Onboarding Documents

Establish Network Connectivity

Procure Digital Signature Certificates, Signing Tool and Public Static IP Address

Undergo UAT for File Format Testing

Initiate On-us Transaction for Testing

Direct Corporate Access (DCA) functionality facilitates the access of NACH Credit to the Corporates thus leading to ease of operations both for the Corporates as well as their Sponsor Banks. DCA functionality comes with the sponsor bank’s control thereby allowing the tracking of transactions, reports and MIS by all the concerned entities without having a dependency on the sponsor bank.

Dispute Management System (DMS) functionality provides a common platform to all the participating banks to raise and resolve transaction related issues in a time bound manner with provisions of pre-arbitration, arbitration and good faith. DMS also provides the option of tracking the disputes, settlement of disputed transactions, reports and escalation of disputes.