If you are still in possession of non-CTC cheque books, then it is in your own interest to get those replaced with CTS-2010 standard cheque books latest by December 31.
Still using non-CTC compliant cheques for making payments and haven’t got your old cheque books replaced with the CTS-2010 standard cheque books? Here’s bad news for you. Your cheques will not get cleared by your bank starting January 1, 2019. A majority of banks, including SBI and PNB, have already informed their customers about this move.
The State Bank of India, for instance, has put a notice on its website which says, “As per RBI directives, periodicity for processing Non-CTS cheques in CTS clearing has been reduced to ‘once in a month’ from 01.09.2018, i.e., second Wednesday of the month. No such cheques will be accepted in CTS clearing after 31.12.2018. Please contact your Home branch for replacement with CTS-2010 standard cheques.”
Similarly, Punjab National Bank in one of its advisories says: It is clear, thus, that if you are still in possession of non-CTC cheque books, then it is in your own interest to get those replaced with CTS-2010 standard cheque books. Here is all you need to know about this.
What are non-CTS and CTS-2010 cheque books?
Cheque books not containing CTS-2010 cheque leafs are called non-CTS cheque books. According to banking experts, CTS-2010 cheques have certain common security features and standardised field placements for enabling image based processing of cheques through optical / image character recognition technology, which are absent in non-CTS cheques.
What are the benefits of CTS cheque books?
Cheque Truncation System eliminates the need to physically move the cheques for clearing purposes and thereby the associated cost or time required for their collection. “Faster collection process leads to better customer service and reduces the risk of losing instruments in transit and usual cheque reconciliation-related issues. Even if the collecting bank and the paying bank are located in different cities, no outstation cheque collection charges or Speed Clearing charges would be levied as long as both the bank branches are located within the same CTS grid,” says Sahil Arora, VP & Head of Payment Products, Paisabazaar.com.
What will happen if old cheque books are not replaced by December 31?
“People who fail to get their old cheques replaced by December 31, 2018, would not be able to get their cheques cleared as separate fortnightly clearing for non-CTS cheques would be discontinued after December 31, 2018, as mandated by the RBI,” informs Arora.
So, better hurry up if you haven’t got your old cheque books replaced with CTS-2010 standard cheque books. And you must do it latest by December 31, 2018, if you don’t want your cheques to bounce from next month.
What to do if you have issued post-dated cheques (PDCs) for loan repayment?
According to bankers, you can give mandate for ECS debit for loan repayment to your bank or request for replacing the existing Non-CTS PDCs with CTS-2010 standard cheques.
Source: The Financial Express
