New rule for cheque payments from January 1: Everything you need to know

Earlier, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das announced that a "positive payment system" for the cheque would be launched soon, according to which new confirmation of the main details of payments over Rs 50,000 is required. The new cheque payment rule will go into effect from 1 January 2021 to keep consumer safety in focus and reduce instances of fraud and abuse in connection with check payments.

Positive Payment Service is an automated fraud detection tool that compares specific information related to the cheque submitted for clearing, such as cheque number, date of the cheque, name of the payee, account number, amount, and other details with a list of previously authorized and issued cheques by source.

Here are some things to know about the new rule for cheque payments:

1. In this process, the issuer of the cheque will send some minimum details of that check such as the date, the name of the beneficiary/beneficiary, the amount, etc. to the electronically drawn bank, through channels such as SMS, mobile app, internet banking, and teller  Automatically, etc.
2. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will develop a positive payment facility in the Cheque Crediting System (CTS) and make it available to the participating banks. Banks, in turn, would enable it for all account holders who write checks for amounts of Rs. 50,000 and above
3. The bank system will upload the data to Positive Pay's central data system. When the bank receives the cheque, it will verify the data in the central database and make the payment if the data provided by the account holder matches the data on the cheque. If there is a disagreement, the bank will reject the cheque.
4. Although the use of this service is at the discretion of the account holder, banks may consider making it mandatory for cheques for amounts of Rs. 5,00,000 or more.
5. The Reserve Bank of India advised banks to create adequate awareness among their customers about the features of a positive payment system through SMS alerts, displaying them at branches, ATMs, as well as through their websites and online banking services.