RBI realtime cheque clearance system: Customers complain of delays; bank staff not fully trained

India’s new real-time cheque clearance system , introduced by the Reserve Bank of India to speed up payments, is facing early teething issues.

Many customers have reported delays as the bank staff is struggling with new processes, and technical glitches are affecting cheque processing, ET reported.

The first phase of the continuous clearing and settlement process under the cheque truncation system started on October 4. Cheques deposited between 10 am and 4 pm will now be scanned and sent for clearing instantly. From 11 am, banks settle transactions every hour. Paying banks must confirm by 7 pm, in case there is no response, the cheque is automatically approved.

Previously, cheques were cleared in a batch at the end of the day.

A public sector bank official assured that “as the system is new, there are some teething problems, but these things will be sorted out over time.”

The system is designed to replace the old batch-based method, which could take one to two business days, with same-day clearance. This means that funds can be credited within hours.

However, due to the glitches, many banks are encountering issues such as poor cheque image quality, inconsistent scanning, and staff not fully trained to use the new system. As a result, cheques are either rejected or processed according to the old schedules, negating the benefits of instant clearing.

Here are some issues that needed to be addressed for better functioning of the new system:

Staff not fully trained

“Bankers are not trained in the new process that requires them to scan cheques and transmit digital images to a central operations team the same day,” said a senior official at a Mumbai-based private bank.

Technical glitches

“There have also been issues with system integration, readability and punching, so certain quotes and numbers don't get scanned or can't be read by systems,” ET quoted the official as saying.

He added, “When clearing does not happen, someone physically has to go through those checks and do the process again. This has delayed cheque clearing.”

Credit taking more time

“For an NBFC like us, we regularly get cheques from borrowers paying their EMI,” said an executive at a Mumbai-based NBFC.

“We presented a bunch of those cheques amounting to roughly Rs 20 crore on a Saturday. Till today, we have not received payment in our account even though the amount is debited from the bank accounts of customers. There is no clear answer from our bank as to where the money is lying.”

Rising frustration among customers

Frustrated customers have taken to social media to voice complaints. Travelnetic System LLP wrote on X, “Despite RBI’s CTS (cheque truncation system) mandate for same-day cheque clearance, customers are still facing delays — cheques deposited days ago remain uncleared.”

RBI’s support move

To help banks adjust with the new system, the RBI extended cheque clearing until 11 pm on Wednesday, beyond the usual 7 pm cutoff, according to ET.

Limited impact

Despite ongoing glitches and issues, the impact has been limited because many people now use online payments.

Corporates increasingly rely on NEFT and RTGS, while retail customers in cities use UPI. RBI data shows that cheque clearing volumes have fallen to 200–300 million per month since 2020, down from 450 million before Covid.

As for the smooth functioning of the newly implemented system, bankers say that the delays are typical of any new system and expect smooth operations within a week or two.