RTGS Transfer Delayed? How to Follow Up Using the UTR

"I sent ₹6 lakh by RTGS to the builder two hours ago, my account is debited, and they say nothing has arrived." If this is you, the fix is: get the 22-character UTR from your bank, send it to the receiver so their bank can trace the credit, and ask your bank whether it has received a positive confirmation or a return. Under RBI rules the credit should happen within 30 minutes, or the money should come back within an hour.

RTGS is the most tightly timed transfer in Indian banking, so a delay of more than a couple of hours almost always has a specific, traceable cause.

How RTGS should work, as of October 2026

All figures below are from RBI's RTGS FAQs (updated October 2026).

For how RTGS compares with NEFT and IMPS, see NEFT vs RTGS vs IMPS.

Where to find the UTR

The UTR is the one number both banks can use to locate your payment.

• Net banking or app: open the transaction in "Fund transfer status" or "Transaction history". The UTR is often labelled UTR, Reference No. or Transaction Ref.
• SMS or email: many banks send it after the transfer is processed.
• Bank statement: the narration of the RTGS debit usually contains it.
• Branch transfer: the counterfoil or acknowledgement slip, or ask the branch to look it up.

RTGS UTRs are 22 characters long and often begin with the sending bank's four-letter bank code, though the exact pattern varies by bank. Do not confuse it with your bank's internal reference number, which the beneficiary bank cannot use.

Why RTGS gets delayed

What to do, step by step

In the first hour

1. Check the status in your bank app. If it shows "processed" or "success", your bank has sent it. If it shows "pending" or "in process", the problem is at your end.
2. Copy the UTR and share it with the receiver along with the amount, date and time. Ask them to check their statement and, if needed, ask their branch to search inward RTGS by UTR.
3. Check that the beneficiary details match what you entered. Since 1 April 2025, banks have offered a free beneficiary name look-up for RTGS and NEFT; if you skipped it, check the name now.

After two hours with no credit and no return

4. Raise a complaint with your bank through the app, net banking, official helpline or branch, quoting the UTR. Ask specifically: "Has the beneficiary bank sent a positive confirmation, or has the transfer been returned?"
5. Ask the receiver to complain to their bank as well, quoting the UTR. The beneficiary bank is the one that must credit or return.
6. Use your bank's RTGS Customer Facilitation Centre, whose contact details RBI lists on its website, if branch staff cannot trace it.

If credit or return was late

7. Ask for the compensation at repo rate plus 2% if it was not credited automatically.
8. Escalate to the grievance redressal officer, and after 30 days without a satisfactory reply, to the RBI Ombudsman at cms.rbi.org.in. See bank not resolving your complaint.

If the money left your account through IMPS or UPI instead, the rules are different; see money debited but not credited.

Worked example: compensation for a late return

Kiran sends ₹8,00,000 by RTGS on 10 October at 11 am. The beneficiary account is frozen, so the beneficiary bank should return the money within an hour. It returns the money only on 12 October, two days late.

The exact day count and method follow RBI's RTGS System Regulations and your banks' process, so treat this as an estimate. The point is that the delay has a cost to the bank, and you are entitled to it without asking.

Ready-to-copy follow-up message

Subject: RTGS not credited / not returned – UTR [22-character UTR]

Dear Sir/Madam,

On [date] at [time], I transferred ₹[amount] by RTGS from my account
[last 4 digits] to [beneficiary name], account [last 4 digits],
IFSC [code]. UTR: [UTR]. My account was debited, but the beneficiary
has not received the credit, and the amount has not been returned.

RBI's RTGS FAQs require credit within 30 minutes of receipt, or return
within one hour, with compensation at repo rate plus 2% for delay.
Please confirm whether a positive confirmation or return has been
received for this UTR, resolve the transfer, and credit any
compensation due. Please share a complaint reference number.

[Name], [registered mobile], [account last 4 digits]

What not to do

• Do not send the same RTGS again until the first is traced; you may end up with two credits to chase.
• Do not share your OTP, net banking password or card details with anyone calling to "speed up" the RTGS, even if they quote your UTR.
• Do not call helpline numbers from search results or social media. Use the number on your bank's official website or app.
• Do not give the receiver only a screenshot without the UTR. The UTR is what their bank needs.
• Do not accept "RTGS takes 2–3 days". It does not; RBI's limits are minutes and an hour.

Key takeaways

• RTGS works 24x7 for ₹2 lakh and above; the credit must happen within 30 minutes of receipt.
• If credit is not possible, the money must come back within one hour or before the end of the RTGS business day.
• The 22-character UTR is the key to tracing; share it with the receiver and quote it in every complaint.
• Delay in credit or return earns compensation at repo rate plus 2%, credited automatically.
• Escalate to the grievance officer, then cms.rbi.org.in after 30 days.