An IFSC is the Indian Financial System Code of a bank branch. It is 11 characters. RBI’s NEFT FAQ says the first four characters identify the bank, the fifth character is 0, and the last six characters identify the branch. You need it whenever you send NEFT or RTGS. The other half of the instruction is the account number. One without the other does not arrive.
The code is about the branch, not about you. Two people at the same branch share the same IFSC and have different account numbers. A person who moves their account to another branch of the same bank can have a new IFSC. Copy it from the other person’s cheque book, passbook, or the bank’s own confirmation. A code guessed from a logo on a website is how money goes to the wrong branch and then comes back, or does not.
NEFT credits the account number you typed. RTGS does the same. A small difference in the spelling of the name is why both systems were built to follow the number. From December 2024, RBI added a look-up so the screen can show the name on that account before you send. Banks had to offer it on internet banking, in the mobile app, and at the branch by 1 April 2025. The RTGS FAQ says the look-up is free. If the name cannot be shown, you may still send, and you carry that choice. Read the name and the number.
Where you do not type it
UPI, for a payment to a person or a shop, does not ask for an IFSC. You use a UPI ID, a mobile number, or a QR code. The app already knows which account sits behind that ID. IMPS gives you a choice. A mobile number plus the MMID, the mobile money identifier, needs no IFSC. An IMPS transfer to an account number still needs the IFSC, in the same way NEFT does.
An IPO application on UPI does not ask you to type the company’s IFSC either. The mandate blocks money in your own bank account. The IPO application guide is that path. The allotment guide is what the registrar does later. Neither step is an NEFT you address by hand.
If the code is wrong
A wrong IFSC usually means the other bank cannot credit the account. NEFT should then return the money within 2 hours of the batch, on the FAQ updated 2 September 2024. RTGS should return it within 1 hour of receipt, or before the RTGS business day ends, whichever is earlier. A late return is compensated. For NEFT and RTGS that compensation is the repo rate plus 2 percentage points. The current repo rate is on RBI policy rates.
Keep the UTR until the other person confirms. Complain to your bank first. The payments guide compares NEFT, RTGS, IMPS and UPI, including what each one asks you to type. A balance that should earn interest, rather than sit in a transfer, belongs in the FD calculator.
Questions
How many characters are in an IFSC?
Eleven. The first four characters name the bank. The fifth character is 0. The last six characters name the branch. RBI’s NEFT FAQ, updated on 2 September 2024, sets out that pattern. A code of a different length is not an IFSC.
Do I need an IFSC for UPI?
Not for an everyday UPI payment. You use a UPI ID, a mobile number, or a QR code. NEFT and RTGS still need the account number and the IFSC. IMPS can use either a mobile number with an MMID, or the account number with the IFSC.
Does the IFSC check the account holder’s name?
The code only identifies the branch. The account number identifies the account. From 1 April 2025, banks had to offer a name look-up on NEFT and RTGS so you can see the name before you send. The credit still follows the account number if you go ahead.
Sources
Figures checked 31 Oct 2026.