From October 4, 2025, cheques you deposit in banks like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and other Indian Banks will be cleared (processed) on the same day, usually within a few hours, instead of taking one or two days like before. This is because of a new system by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that speeds up cheque processing.
Currently banks use Cheque Truncation System (CTS) to speed up the cheque clearing. It is a system that sends an electronic image of the cheque to the bank that needs to pay, so cheques don’t have to be moved physically. But with the new RBI system, this will become even faster – same-day clearing, instead of 1–2 days.
RBI to Implement Faster Cheque Clearing in Two Phases:
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Phase 1 (Oct 4 – Jan 2, 2026) – In Phase 1, which runs from October 4 to January 2, 2026, banks are given until 7 PM each day to respond to cheque clearances. If a bank does not respond by this deadline, the cheque will be automatically cleared by the system.
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Phase 2 (from Jan 3, 2026) – Under the new system, banks are given only three hours to respond after receiving the electronic image of a cheque. For instance, if a cheque image is received at 10 AM, the bank must clear or raise any issues by 1 PM. If the bank does not respond within this three-hour window, the cheque is automatically cleared by default.
How Will It Work?
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Banks will scan your cheque and send a digital image to a central system.
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This image is sent to the bank that needs to pay the cheque (the drawee bank).
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That bank will check the cheque and respond quickly, between 10 am and 7 pm.
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If they don’t respond by 7 pm, the system will assume the cheque is approved automatically.
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Once the cheque is approved (or auto-approved), the system informs the customers bank.
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Customer bank will credit the money into your account within 1 hour.
Further the RBI has made Positive Pay mandatory for all cheques above ₹5 lakh. For cheques above ₹50,000, using Positive Pay is strongly recommended, but not compulsory. Cheques that are verified through Positive Pay are eligible for protection under the RBI’s dispute resolution system. This adds an extra layer of security and helps prevent fraud or errors in high-value transactions.
Customers are advised to make sure you have enough money in your account. Should fill out cheque details correctly to avoid delays or bounce and should use Positive Pay for high-value cheques.
