Technology check for cheque clearance

Mumbai: Technology has yet again come to the rescue of those who have to wait forever for the credit of outstation cheques.

And the scene gets worse if the cheque happens to be from abroad for then the hassles are compounded.

But now, thanks to a new software, foreign remittances could hit the account in just three days.

$21 billion flowed into India from NRIs in 2005 and a sizeable portion of that money came in through cheques. These cheques took up to three weeks to clear.

But now an electronic payment system called DepositNOW from Synergy Log-in Systems enables banks to capture images of the paper cheques which are transmitted directly to the clearing bank in USA.

As a result three weeks is reduced to as low as three working days.

"The front and back images of the cheque are sent through email to the clearing bank in the US which does its security check. This system ensures that the time is shortened for the customer," President Synergy log-In systems Makarand Diwan said.

If the Indian banks do accept the device, the product will also cut down clearing time of outstation cheques within India.

The negotiated instruments act has already been amended to accept electronic clearing of cheques.

Synergy is also in talks with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian banks association to work out a pilot system for this product.

"It's a very good product. But it also requires that both the banks need to be technologically secure to carry this out," said Senior Vice President, Indian banks association K Unnikrishnan.

The system will allow banks to cut down on the cost of physically handling and transporting the paper cheques.

The system will also help money reach customers' accounts much quicker than before.

And that's not all, as an added bonus it will help track down fraudulent cheques.