ICICI Bank to Clear Cheques Within Hours as RBI’s New Rule Takes Effect From October 4

By Siddhi Jain | Sep 23, 2025, 19:02 IST

ICICI Bank customers are set to experience a major change in cheque clearance from October 4, 2025. Under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) new continuous clearing system, cheques deposited will be cleared the same day, eliminating the earlier 2–3 day wait.

What’s Changing?

Until now, cheques were processed through the Cheque Truncation System (CTS). In this system, banks scanned cheque details and sent them to the clearing house, which returned them the next day before settlement. This caused delays of one to two working days.

From October 4, however, cheques will move to a continuous clearing and settlement model. This means:

Only one presentation session will be held daily.
The session will run between 10 AM and 4 PM.
Cheques deposited during this time will be scanned and instantly sent to the clearing house.
The clearing house will forward cheque images continuously to the drawee bank.
Customers will receive funds in their accounts the same day.

Two-Phase Rollout

Phase 1: October 4, 2025
Phase 2: January 3, 2026

The phased approach will help banks gradually transition to the new system.

ICICI Bank’s Advisory for Customers

For faster processing, ICICI Bank has issued key guidelines:

Deposit cheques before the cut-off time.
Ensure sufficient balance in the account.
Avoid overwriting, corrections, or cuttings on cheques.
Match the amount in words and numbers precisely.
Provide correct date and signature.

Positive Pay for Security

To minimize fraud, ICICI Bank is encouraging customers to use the Positive Pay System.

What is Positive Pay?

Customers share cheque details (account number, cheque number, payee’s name, amount, and date) with the bank in advance.
When the cheque is presented, these details are verified before clearance.

Rules for Positive Pay

Recommended for cheques above ₹50,000.
Mandatory for cheques above ₹5 lakh.
Any cheque over ₹5 lakh without Positive Pay confirmation will be rejected.

Bottom Line

This RBI-mandated move is expected to revolutionize cheque clearance in India, making transactions faster and more secure. ICICI Bank customers will benefit from same-day settlements, provided they follow proper cheque-writing practices and comply with Positive Pay requirements.