Do you have an Indian bank account? Your cheques will soon clear faster

Dubai: Indian expats in the UAE who still use cheques for transactions back home will soon see money move faster, thanks to a major upgrade in India’s cheque clearance process.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is shifting its Cheque Truncation System (CTS) — which already processes cheques electronically rather than moving paper — from a batch system to continuous clearing and settlement.

The change will roll out in two phases:

1. From October 4, 2025, banks in India will process cheques throughout the day, with a cut-off time of 7:00 PM. If a bank doesn’t respond by then, the cheque will be treated as cleared.

2. From January 3, 2026, banks will have only three hours from receiving a cheque to confirm whether it is cleared or declined — speeding up processing to near real-time.

What this means for UAE-based Indian expats:

• Cheques sent to Indian banks from the UAE (or deposited locally in NRE/NRO accounts) will be cleared much faster.

• Funds will be credited as soon as one hour after settlement, rather than the current 1–3 days in some cases.

• Fraud risk remains low because CTS uses secure digital imaging instead of moving physical cheques.

The RBI says the goal is to improve banking efficiency and customer convenience. Indian banks have been asked to notify customers about the changes and ensure their systems are ready.

For now, UAE residents sending or depositing cheques in India should expect noticeably faster settlements from October 2025, and almost instant clearance from January 2026.