New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced on Wednesday that it has postponed the implementation of Phase 2 of the faster cheque clearance framework by banks, which was scheduled to begin from January 3, 2026.“Implementation of phase 2 is being postponed until further notice, to allow more time to banks to streamline their processes,” according to the RBI statement.
Phase 1 of the system, which was implemented earlier this year, will continue to operate as usual. The RBI further stated that the timing of the presentation session for cheques has also been modified. The cheque presentation time will now range from 9 am to 3 pm, while banks will be able to confirm or reject cheques between 9 am and 7 pm.
Under the proposed Phase 2 guidelines, banks are required to clear or reject any cheque deposited over the counter within just three hours. This is expected to be a major relief for customers, making payments faster and more efficient once the process starts.
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RBI introduced continuous clearance under the Cheque Truncation System (CTS) to make cheque clearing faster and smoother by moving away from the traditional batch system. Under CTS, cheques are cleared using digital images and electronic data, removing the need to physically move cheques between banks.
From October 4, 2025, Phase 1 introduced a single, continuous presentation window during the day. Banks scan cheques and send their images and MICR data to the clearing house as they receive them, instead of waiting for fixed clearing batches
After the drawee bank receives the image of the cheque, it reviews the details and sends its approval or rejection electronically. If no response is sent by the end of the confirmation window, the cheque is treated as approved and settled.
Phase 2, which was planned to start from January 3, 2026, was meant to further expedite the clearance of cheques to ensure greater convenience for bank customers. Banks would get just three hours to approve or reject a cheque after receiving its image.
If a bank failed to respond within this time, the cheque would be automatically approved and settled. This would have pushed banks to process cheques more quickly and helped customers get their money sooner. However, since phase 2 has been deferred, cheque clearing will continue under the present Phase 1 system, which does not have to follow the three-hour deadline.
