Have you ever shopped online from Flipkart, Amazon, or any other website? Even if you haven’t, you must have heard about it. When you buy something online, you get a tracking ID or reference number. It helps you check where your order is and when it will arrive. Similarly, when you send money from one bank to another, you get a UTR number. It helps you track the status of your money transfer.
In this article, we will talk about what the UTR is and how to track it. What is the difference between NEFT UTR and RTGS UTR? If you want to know what the UTR is, its full form, and how to find the UTR number, keep reading. Feel free to share this article if you find it useful.
What is the UTR number? Full form and meaning
The full form of the UTR number is the Unique Transaction Reference number. When you send money between banks, each transaction gets a unique UTR number. No two UTR are the same anywhere in the world.
In this number, the IFSC code of the bank sending the money, transaction date, transaction time, etc. information is recorded.
Because there is a unique UTR number for each transaction. One UTR number cannot be identical to another. That’s why it is called a Unique Transaction Reference Number. In common parlance, it is simply called a Transaction Number. Or it is also called a reference number.
Usually, we don’t pay much attention to this number because we don’t need it often. But if a transaction fails, and your money doesn’t reach the other bank, you can use the UTR number to check what went wrong.
With the UTR number, you can call customer care or use other methods to check your transaction’s progress.
UTR Number for NEFT and RTGS Transactions
In the early days of online banking in India, money was transacted in 2 ways- NEFT Transfer and RTGS Transfer. In both types of fund transfers, it is generated for each transaction. NEFT’s number has 16 digits, while RTGS’s number has 22 digits.
Later, new methods of payment and fund transfer developed, such as IMPS, UPI, AePS, etc. A transaction number is also issued for every transaction that takes place through these new methods, but it is simply called a transaction number or reference number.
Importance of UTR Number
With the help of the UTR number, you can know the status of your transaction or fund transfer. The status shows whether the transaction has been completed or not.
If the transaction is stuck somewhere in the middle, then the information about the progress of the process is also available from the Status.
The information included in UTR number
There is a slight difference in the structure of the UTR number for NEFT and RTGS transactions. While the UTR number of the NEFT transaction has 16 digits, the UTR number of the RTGS transaction has 22 digits. The difference between NEFT and RTGS transactions and the features of their UTR numbers are explained separately.
What is the UTR number of NEFT transactions?
The full form of NEFT is National Electronic Funds Transfer. RBI started this service in November 2005 to facilitate online money transfers between two bank accounts.
Initially, this service was available only on banking working days and during the day. And from the Reserve Bank’s side, these transactions were settled in batches of one hour each. Batch means that the number of transactions people do every hour, all of them were transferred together.
From December 2019 it was made operational round the clock on all days of the year. But, even now NEFT Transfers are done in batches of half an hour. That’s why the NEFT transaction is not completed immediately.
NEFT UTR Number Format
As we have mentioned above a 16-digit UTR number is issued for NEFT transactions. It is in the following format-
BANKSYYJJJNNNNNN
The following information is hidden in the numbers included in it-
- First 4 Digits: The first four digits represent the IFSC code of the remitting bank.
- Next one digit: The next digit represents the server used in the transaction.
- Next 2 digits: The next two digits represent the respective year, e.g., 19 means 2019.
- Next 3 Digits: The next three digits represent the Julian day number. This is the number of days since the start of the Julian calendar.
- Next 6 Digits: The next six digits represent the sequence number of that transaction.
What is the UTR number of RTGS transactions?
The full form of RTGS is Real Time Gross Settlement. RTGS is used only for one-time payments above Rs 2 lakh. To understand its meaning, pay attention to the words involved in it:
- Real-Time means that the money will be transferred at the exact time the transaction is done.
- The gross settlement means that whatever amount is for a transaction, only that amount will be transferred immediately. Unlike NEFT transfers, multiple transactions will not be clubbed to be transferred in one go. The fund transfer process will be different for each transaction, each time.
RTGS UTR Number Format
As we have mentioned above that the UTR number of an RTGS transaction is 22 digits. Its format is as follows-
BANKRNYYYYMMDDNNNNNNNN
The following information is hidden in the numbers included in it:
- First 4 Digits: The first four digits represent the IFSC code of the remitting bank.
- Next 1 digit: R is written here, which means that this transaction is related to RTGS.
- Next 1 digit: The number present here indicates the channel of that transaction. For example, 1 for Internet Banking, 3 for Treasury, 4 for ATM, 5 for Mobile.
- Next 4 digits: The next four digits indicate the year in which the transaction took place.
- Next 2 digits: The next two digits indicate the month in which the transaction took place.
- Next 2 digits: The next two digits represent the date at the time of the transaction.
- Next 8 Digits: In the last eight digits, the sequence number of that transaction is recorded.
How to know the UTR number of a transaction?
We rarely need the UTR number. If you do transactions offline through the bank, your money is usually credited or debited right away.
It is issued for both NEFT and RTGS transactions. But general customers mostly use NEFT transactions. So here we are just telling you how to find the UTR number of NEFT transactions. The method of knowing the UTR number of RTGS payment is also similar to this.
Offline Method
You can see the this number in your bank passbook. A record of all transactions is recorded in the passbook of your bank account. In front of each transaction, its date and UTR number are also recorded.
Online Method
- Using NetBanking, log in to your bank account using your username and password.
- Check the Mini Statement or Detailed Statement of your account.
- Click on the transaction details of the transaction whose UTR number you want to check.
- You will see the details related to that transaction on the screen. The UTR number will also be there. The data that appears starting with the IFSC code of the bank is the UTR number (As per the format mentioned above).
How to know the UTR number of IMPS and UPI transactions?
For IMPS and UPI transactions, the UTR number is not generated. Rather only the reference number or transaction number is issued for them. It is 12 digits.
The first digit of each reference number is the last digit of the year in which it was issued. For all transactions done during the year 2020, the first digit of the transaction number will be 0, and for all transactions done during the year 2021, the first digit of the transaction number will be 1.
Its time is also mentioned in front of every transaction. In the below screenshot, we are also showing a sample UPI transaction reference number.
Reference numbers are also issued for bill payments and online transactions. The number of digits of their reference number varies according to the company taking the payment.
How to track the transaction status?
With the help of the UTR number, you can know the status of your transaction. For this, you have two ways:
Internet Banking or Mobile App
Login to your account using Internet banking or the mobile app. View a list of past transactions. From the list of UTR numbers appearing in front, click on the number about which you want to know. You will know the current status of the transaction related to it.
With the help of customer care
Call the customer care number of your bank. When asked by the person attending customer care, you must quote the UTR number of the transaction you wish to inquire about. Based on the this number, they will tell you about the current status of your transaction.
In England, the UTR number is for a different purpose. In England, it stands for Unique Taxpayer Reference Number, which is a taxpayer’s number through Self-Assessment. Whereas in India, the UTR number is issued for the reference number of any banking transaction.
