Come January 1, 2013 and the old cheques or the cheque-books that bank account holders in India have will be invalid. A new set of guidelines have been issued that will prevent the physical transfer of cheques from one place to the other. According to the new guidelines, the old cheques might just be of no use at all from the next year.
The new rules come into effect courtesy the Cheque Truncation System (CTS-2010). This prohibits carrying the cheque with a person as is common now. This will eliminate the risk factor associated with this and this is seen as
an important move to protect the interests of the customers. So the question to ask is how will the new format work this time around?Well, here is the answer. The first thing is that certain images of the cheque will be used instead of the entire cheque which is in practice currently. These images will be electronic images so they will be totally safe and secure to use. That will also help in the
clearing of the cheques faster than the time it is consuming these days.According to the new rules, the bank customers will have to get the new cheque-books before this year ends. The new rules will come from effect from January 1 next year, as stated above. However, a certain transitory period of about three months is expected to be allowed for the customers. This means the process of the new transaction might not be fully operational until the start of the next financial year.
During these three months, the customers will be able to use both types of cheques – the ones that are in practice currently, and the ones that will come into effect from the next year. The corresponding information can be obtained from the respective banks if you are already contemplating upon getting the new cheques for yourself.
It would be advisable to contact your bank in case you need more help.
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED IN DECEMBER 2012
