SBI IMPS Fee Structure 2025

The State Bank of India (SBI), one of India’s largest public sector banks, has recently revised its SBI IMPS Fee Structure, impacting millions of digital banking users. Effective August 15, 2025, SBI will impose nominal charges on online IMPS transactions exceeding ₹25,000. This change primarily affects customers using UPI-linked transfers, net banking, or mobile banking platforms for instant fund transfers.

Branch-based IMPS transactions and certain exempt accounts remain unaffected. Understanding this update is crucial for SSC aspirants, especially in the banking, economy, and current affairs sections of the exam.

What is IMPS?

IMPS or Immediate Payment Service is a real-time interbank electronic fund transfer system that works 24×7, including holidays. It is widely used in SBI digital banking for:

• P2P (person-to-person) payments

• Bill and rent payments

• Online shopping settlements

IMPS is often preferred over NEFT or RTGS for mid-value instant transfers because of its speed and convenience. Earlier, most IMPS charges for online transactions were nil, making it a popular choice for SBI online transfer fees.

SBI IMPS Fee Structure – What’s New?

As per the updated guidelines, the SBI IMPS Fee Structure now imposes tiered nominal charges for online transfers exceeding ₹25,000. The charges, excluding GST, are as follows:

These fees apply only to internet banking, YONO, or mobile banking transfers. Branch-based IMPS transactions remain free. This revised SBI IMPS Fee Structure is aimed at recovering operational costs, discouraging high-value micro-transactions, and aligning fees with digital infrastructure upgrades.

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Who is Exempted from These Charges?

To protect specific categories of customers, SBI has announced full waivers under the revised SBI IMPS Fee Structure for:

• Salary package account holders

• Select current accounts, including Gold, Diamond, Platinum, and Rhodium tiers.

• Government departments and autonomous/statutory bodies

This ensures that regular salaried individuals and premium banking customers do not bear additional costs while using IMPS online transactions. The exemption also highlights SBI’s focus on easing financial access for government entities and corporate users.

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Charges for Corporate Customers

While the new charges for retail customers are effective from August 15, 2025, corporate customers will see a revised SBI IMPS Fee Structure for corporate accounts starting September 8, 2025. Although detailed charges are not yet publicly disclosed, they are expected to follow a similar tiered structure, with potential adjustments for high-volume transactions.

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Why This Change Matters

The revised SBI IMPS Fee Structure reflects multiple objectives:

1. Recover operational costs of real-time digital payments

2. Discourage excessive high-value micro-transactions

3. Align fees with digital infrastructure upgrades

While UPI transfers remain free for P2P payments, IMPS is increasingly becoming a commercial service for higher-value transactions. Comparisons like IMPS vs UPI charges for SBI online transactions help users understand cost differences and choose the most suitable transfer method.

SSC Exam Relevance

For SSC aspirants, knowing the SBI IMPS Fee Structure is vital for current affairs and banking-related questions. Key points to remember:

• Effective dates: Retail – August 15, 2025; Corporate – September 8, 2025

• Nominal charges for transactions above ₹25,000

• Exempt categories: salary package accounts, premium current accounts, government entities

• Applicable channels: internet banking, YONO, mobile banking

• Comparison with UPI transfers

These details can be asked in SSC exams under the banking and economy section, especially in questions related to digital payments, operational banking updates, and current affairs.

Final Thoughts

The revised SBI IMPS Fee Structure represents a significant step in India’s digital banking evolution. By introducing nominal charges for online transfers above ₹25,000, SBI aims to recover operational costs and ensure the sustainability of real-time digital payments. The tiered fee system makes charges predictable and transparent for users, while exemptions for salary accounts, premium accounts, and government entities help reduce the impact on key customer categories.

This change highlights the growing trend of commercializing high-value digital transactions, especially as UPI remains free for smaller peer-to-peer transfers. Customers using internet banking, YONO, or mobile banking should be aware of these charges to plan their transfers efficiently.

Overall, the updated SBI IMPS Fee Structure balances service convenience with cost recovery, reflecting the bank’s efforts to maintain a robust and sustainable digital payment ecosystem.