Change your Cheque book before 31st December

You may have seen such advertisement by SBI in many national dailies on 5^th November and 19^th November. They are informing the account holders that the old cheques will not be valid from 1^st January 2013, because they are migrating to the CTS -2010 cheques, as mandated by RBI. Many other banks are also informing this through advertisements in dailies and through their websites.

What is CTS-2010?

Cheque Truncation System -2010 is the benchmark for the standardization of cheques issued by all banks. This new system will change the way cheques are processed now. At present, banks are sending the cheques physically to drawee banks for clearing. This leads to delay in clearance. But with the new CTS -2010 complied cheques, banks will be sending the scanned image of the cheques to the drawee banks for faster clearance.

This will help the banks in saving courier charges and time, while for you and me, it will result in faster clearance.

In these cheques, the watermark, bank logo and other security features are positioned at the same place in cheques of different banks to make clearance through scanned image easier and faster.  This will ensure uniformity across cheques issued by all banks and will help in easy scrutiny.

How to identify a CTS -2010 complied cheque?

1. If the letters ‘CTS – 2010’ is printed perpendicularly along with the name of the printer, on the cheque near the perforation on the left side, it is CTS -2010 compliant.
2. All CTS -2010 cheques will carry a standardized watermark with the words ‘CTS INDIA’ which can be seen when the cheque is held against a light source.
3. The cheque will also have ‘please sign above this line’ mentioned at the bottom right of the cheque, which was not there in earlier cheques.
4. Payable at par at all branches of the bank in India – text will be at the bottom of each cheque.

What you should do before 31^st Dec?

Many private banks are already using CTS-2010 complied cheques. Please check your cheque book for the above mentioned features and ensure that your cheque is CTS -2010 complied. Otherwise, order for a new cheque book immediately.

If you have given any post dated cheques to your banks for any loan EMIs please replace them with new cheque leaves, because the banks cannot encash the old cheques from 1^st January. 2013. Also, replace the post dated cheques given to your landlord for the rent.

Also, don’t forget to encash any cheques you are holding, because you cannot do it after 1^st January. If you are holding any post dated cheques beyond 1^st January, arrange to get it replace with a new cheque.

No more corrections in Cheques

Most important point is that, in the new system, banks will not accept any cheques with corrections. If you make any mistakes in the cheques while writing, please cancel the cheque and issue a new cheque.