Cheques that are in use would no longer be useful from the start of New Year 2013. The cheques henceforth have to be according the new RBI standard format. The new format enables banks to the use cheque digital image for clearance. The move by banks would speed up the clearance process and decrease cheque fraud.
According norms, under Cheque Trun-cation System (CTS 2010), banks substitute the physical movement of cheques to the drawee bank with their images in JPEG format.
The need for introduction CTS2010 was felt because of the increasing use of cheques payable across cities and payable at par cheques across banks and across branches, local processing of outstation cheques, grid based CTS for image-based processing of checks- and so on.
Banks such as PNB, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and others have already implemented norms.
Cheques in old format, if any, have to be encashed before 31 December 2013.
Loan providers would also insist on CTS-standards cheques.
The cheques are to be processed electronically, change payee’s name, amount and date of issue is not permissible even if the issuer wants in this regard with signature.
Since the cheques are transmitted electronically, alterations in payee’s name, amount and date of issue are not allowed even if the issuer authenticates the change with his signature.