Bank Cheques to Clear Same Day from Saturday

Thiruvananthapuram: Starting Saturday, commercial banks across India will process and clear cheques on the same day, as per new RBI guidelines. Major banks, including SBI, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank, will implement the system.Under the new policy, cheques deposited between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. must be scanned and cleared by 7 p.m. the same day. The receiving bank must decide by then whether to accept or reject the cheque; otherwise, it will be deemed accepted. Once settlement is complete, the amount will be credited to the beneficiary’s account within an hour, provided sufficient funds are available in the issuer’s account. Currently, most banks take at least two working days for clearance.