2 min readMumbaiUpdated: Aug 14, 2025 01:21 AM IST
Starting October 4, 2025, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will roll out a new system to clear cheques within a few hours—a big improvement from the current processing time of up to two working days.
Under the new system, cheques will be scanned, processed, and settled continuously during business hours, instead of being cleared in batches. This means that the current T+1 clearing cycle (where T is the day of cheque deposit) will be reduced to just a few hours.
Currently, the Cheque Truncation System (CTS) clears cheques in one or two working days, depending on when they are deposited. The RBI aims to improve customer convenience and reduce settlement risk by moving to a faster, real-time clearing process.
How the transition will work
Phase 1: October 4, 2025 – January 2, 2026
*Banks must confirm (approve or reject) cheques presented to them by 7:00 PM the same day.
*If a bank does not respond by 7:00 PM, the cheque will be automatically treated as approved and included for settlement. The deadline for processing all cheques will be 7:00 PM.
Phase 2: From January 3, 2026
Cheques will need to be confirmed within 3 hours of being received by the bank.
Example: If a cheque is received between 10:00 AM and 11:00 AM, the bank must confirm it by 2:00 PM (3 hours from 11:00 AM).
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If the bank does not respond in time, the cheque will again be considered approved by default and cleared.
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