NPCI says same-day cheque clearance system stabilised; most bank issues resolved

Bengaluru: National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which has been managing the image-based cheque clearance system to ensure the same-day clearance of cheques, has said most of the issues faced by the banks in clearing cheques on the same-day have now been resolved. The central system has been stable since Monday and it is working with banks to address any remaining issues, to ensure same-day credit for the presented cheques.

As per RBI’s directions, the cheque clearing system has transitioned from batch processing (t+1) to continuous clearing system (t+0) to enable faster cheque clearance. This change was implemented on October 4, 2025.

Post implementation, a total of 1.49 crore instruments, amounting to Rs. 8,49,557 crore, have been processed and cleared through the central system.

“During these initial days, we have encountered some teething issues both at the central system operated by NPCI and at the participating banks, resulting in delays in clearing and in crediting customers’ accounts, and a large number of returns. Most of these issues have now been resolved, and the central system has been stable since Monday, October 13, 2025,” NPCI said in a statement.

Many banks, especially public sector banks including State Bank of India faced several issues including software issues in seamlessly implementing the same-day cheque clearance system since the new system was introduced from October 4, 2025.

According to banking industry sources, banks were not equipped well to handle a large number of transactions on the same day and lack of adequate training for their staff contributed to the teething troubles and banks had to work for extended hours thereby impacting the customer service.  

The sources said that the new system was implemented without any proper readiness by the banks and hence led to problems for customers ahead of the festival season. Customers were worried because the debited accounts did not reflect corresponding credits.