How IFSC code number of a bank branch is used for electronic money transfer?

IFSC is a short form for Indian Financial System Code. Usually, this code can be found on the passbook and the cheque leaves provided by the bank. IFSC Code is significant to transfer funds online between banks in India. It enables instant fund transfer through modes such as NEFT/ RTGS and IMPS, thus providing safety along with speeding the process of fund transfer.

The cheque leaves of all the banks bear a unique eleven-digit IFSC number which is a combination of alphabets and numerals. The first 4 characters of the IFSC code represent the name of the bank, the fifth character is 0, and the last 6 numbers define the branch code of the bank. All commercial banks allot unique branch code numbers to each of their branches. The branch code so allotted by the bank helps to identify the specific branch of the bank. For example, Indian Overseas Bank Bengaluru City Branch has branch code number ‘11’. If you find an IFSC code IOBA0000011, the specific code refers to the Indian Overseas Bank, Bengaluru City branch. Here, the first four letters ‘IOBA’ in the IFSC code represent Indian Overseas Bank. Similarly, CNRB0005791 refers to the Mumbai Jogeshwari branch of Canara Bank, IFSC PUNB0146000 refers Jammu Shashtrinagar branch of Punjab National Bank, MAHB0000351 represents the Bank of Maharastra Chandnichowk branch, ICIC0000047 represents ICICI bank’s Bangalore Koramangala branch. However, some banks like Bank of Baroda do not use digits in IFSC; they use only alphabets for IFSC.  For example, BARB0PRABAR represents the Bank of Baroda Pratapnagar Branch, Vadodara. BARB0ANEKAL represents their Anekal branch, Bengaluru, and so on.

You can find the IFSC number of a specific bank branch from the list of NEFT enabled bank Branches (Bank-wise Indian Financial System Code) updated by RBI as of February 28, 2021.