New Delhi, Sep 23 : ICICI Bank has announced a major change to its cheque settlement process, aimed at reducing delays and improving customer convenience. From October 4, cheques submitted across the bank branches will be cleared and credited to accounts within one working day, according to the bank's official website.

The action is consistent with the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) new cheque clearing system, which aims to expedite settlements. The previous batch-based procedure will be replaced by the new framework, which will clear cheque within hours of submission.

The Cheque Truncation System (CTS), which sends an electronic image of the check and its details to the drawee bank, is currently used by banks. This removes the need for cheques to be physically transferred, but when deposited in drop boxes or automated teller machines, settlement usually takes two working days.

Additionally, ICICI Bank has emphasised the significance of its Positive Pay feature, which gives high-value cheques an additional degree of security.

To avoid fraud, customers can electronically pre-confirm important details before writing cheques for more than Rs 50,000. For cheques totaling more than Rs 5 lakh, the positive pay feature is mandatory; otherwise, the cheques will be returned. The RBI's dispute resolution process will only apply to cheques that have been verified under Positive Pay.

The RBI declared in its August 2025 directive that batch clearing would give way to continuous clearing and settlement. Phase 1 will begin on October 4, 2025, and Phase 2 will begin on January 3, 2026. cheques presentations will be permitted starting on October 4 during a single daily session from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Customers are advised to ensure all cheque details are accurate to avoid rejection. The amount in words and figures must match, the date must be valid, and there should be no overwriting in the payee's name or amount. The drawer's signature must also match the bank's records.

/IANS