Axis Bank was established in the year 1993 as UTI Bank. On 2nd April 1994, the first branch was inaugurated in Ahmedabad by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Finance Minister of India during those years. UTI bank was jointly promoted in 1993 by the Administrator of the Unit Trust of India (UTI-I), General Insurance Corporation, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), National Insurance Company, The Oriental Insurance Corporation, The New India Assurance Company, and United India Insurance Company.
Today, Axis Bank Ltd. is recognized as the third largest bank in the private banking sector of India. The bank offers comprehensive suite of financial products and services designed to meet specific needs of every individual and corporation. Headquartered in Mumbai, Axis Bank has more than 3300 branches and about 15000 ATMs across India. It also has 9 international offices in UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Dubai, Dhaka, Colombo, Abu Dhabi, and London.
Well, you all have heard the term IFSC code, but, only a few of us know about its meaning and uses. IFSC stands for Indian Financial System Code, which is used for electronic banking transactions like NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer), RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement), IPM (Immediate Payment Service), IMPS (a bank to bank electronic Instant Mobile Money Transfer Service), and CFMS (Centralized Funds Management System) designed by Reserve Bank of India. IFSC code is an 11 digit alphanumeric character, which is a unique identity number for every Axis Bank branch. The codes are generated to make the transactions easier to track cash inflow and outflow. Also, it becomes easier to identify the branch from which the transaction has been done. Therefore, for any successful banking transaction, it is compulsory to enter the Axis Bank IFSC Code and MICR code, because the codes ensure that the transaction has been done to the right person.
MICR stands for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. The Axis Bank MICR code is generated through a character recognition technology that helps in faster cheque clearance process. Every bank branch has unique MICR code that helps the RBI to easily identify the bank branch. MICR code uses a special ink that is sensitive to magnetic fields, and so, the information can be encoded in the magnetic characters. This code enhances the security system of banking transactions. The code removes the risk of manual errors during the cheque clearance process.
The Reserve Bank of India has passed the guidelines mentioning that it is mandatory for every bank branch to have a unique IFSC and MICR code. Both the codes have the same agenda; however, the characters are different from each other. IFSC Code has an 11 digit alphanumeric characters, whereas, the MICR code has 9 digit numeric characters.
1. IFSC Code : The first four alphabetic characters denotes the Axis bank code, the fifth character is 0, and the remaining six characters define specific Axis bank branch.
2. MICR code : The first three digits represent the city code, next three digits are Axis bank code, and the last three are Axis bank branch code.
You can search for IFSC and MICR code if you know the name of bank branch. Also, if you have an Axis bank account, you can find MICR and IFSC code printed on every cheque lead issued by the bank. Also, the Reserve Bank of India offers the complete list of every banks unique identity code. Moreover, there are several third party financial websites such as applykaroo.com where you can get the Axis bank IFSC code.
Applykaroo is a popular financial website that offers a comprehensive table enclosing IFSC and MICR codes for Axis bank branches. All you need to do is just enter certain details like name, branch, district, and state of the bank in order to get the IFSC code or MICR code for Axis bank.
IFSC is a well-known term to the people who are familiar with the banking transactions and people have realized the necessity of the code. As the technology is advancing, it has become necessary for improved security and reliability of banking transactions. The code also makes the banking transactions faster, easier, and hassle-free. Thus, both IFSC and MICR codes hold several benefits in the banking industry.
Today, banking has become an integral part of our everyday lives and being in the part of this busy lifestyle, we do not have enough time left to visit the bank branch every time for the fund transfer transactions. Therefore, keeping the concern in mind, the banks have launched various fund transfer methods, which consumes almost no time to make the transactions successful. Lets check out the top fund transfer methods:
NEFT
National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) system was introduced by the Reserve Bank of India with an intend to make fund transfer process faster and hassle-free. According to the guidelines of RBI, every bank branch has to be NEFT enabled to allow the user to transfer funds hassle-free. The structure of charges that can be levied on the Axis bank account holders for NEFT is mentioned below:
1. Inward transactions at destination bank branches : no charges to be levied from beneficiaries
2. Outward transactions at originating axis bank branches : charges applicable are as follow:
3. For transactions up to Rs.10000 : not exceeding Rs.2.50 + service tax
4. For transactions ranging from Rs.10000 to Rs.1 lakh : not exceeding Rs.5 + service tax
5. For transactions ranging from Rs.1 lakh to Rs.2 lakh : not exceeding Rs.15 + service tax
6. For transactions above Rs.2 lakh : not exceeding Rs.25 + service tax
RTGS
Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) was defined by RBI, which is a constant settlement of fund transfers individually on an order basis (without netting). This system signifies the real-time fund transfer rather than at some later time. Transactions through RTGS method can be processed throughout the working hours.
The minimum amount to be transferred through RTGS method is Rs.2 lakh, though, there is no upper limit. The beneficiary bank credits the beneficiarys account within two hours of receiving the fund transfer notification or message. The charges incurred are as follow:
a. Inward transactions are free, and so, no charge is to be levied
b. Outward transaction: from Rs.2 lakh to Rs.5 lakh : not exceeding Rs.30 per transaction
c. Transaction Rs.5 lakh: not exceeding Rs.55 per transaction
IPMS
Interbank Mobile Payment Service (IPMS) is also known as Immediate Payment Service. The method is slightly less popular than the other popular methods, but, as the smart phone users are increasing with each passing day, the popularity is also increasing. Unlike NEFT and RTGS, there are no time restrictions to access IMPS and thus, can be used 24*7. The charges incurred are:
a. For transactions below Rs.10000 : not exceeding Rs.2.50 + service tax
b. For transactions ranging from Rs.10000 to Rs.1 lakh : not exceeding Rs.5 + service tax
c. For transactions ranging from Rs.1 lakh to Rs.2 lakhs : not exceeding Rs.15 + service tax
Facilitates faster transactions
Forget about standing in the long queues even for getting small transactions process and successfully done. With the help of Axis bank IFSC code, you can process the transactions by your own, no matter in which of the globe you are sitting. The best part is you do not have to wait longer to get the transactions processed and done successfully because this happens within a couple of minutes.
Eliminates the risk of fraud
As the code is unique for every bank branch, the method eliminates the risk and possibility of theft and fraud. For that reason, IFSC code is also mentioned at every cheque leaf along with the MICR code.
Transaction notification
Whenever, a transaction is successful, Axis bank account holder is notified via an SMS to avoid any confusion later.