Faster cheque clearance gets delayed; banks not ready: RBI

MUMBAI: RBI on Wednesday postponed phase 2 of its nationwide faster cheque clearance system, citing banks’ lack of operational readiness after issues in faced by some banks in phase 1. Phase 2 of the Continuous Clearing and Settlement on Realisation in the Cheque Truncation System, due to start on Jan 3, has been deferred until further notice. It requires cheques to be cleared within three hours of realisation. Phase 1, launched on Oct 4, mandates drawee banks to confirm cheques by 7 pm, with non-response treated as approval, enabling continuous clearing during business hours and reducing settlement time from up to two working days to a few hours.