 "Alert customers before clearing high-value cheques, RBI tells banks")
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to alert account holders by a phone call and contact the base branch in case of a non-home cheque before clearing a high-value payment. The move has been put in place to control cheque-related frauds.
RBI advised banks to review and strengthen controls in the cheque presenting/clearing and account monitoring processes and to ensure that all procedural guidelines, including preventive measures, are followed meticulously by the dealing staff/officials.
Banks have been asked to send an SMS alert to payer/drawer when cheques are received for clearing and examine cheques under UV lamp for clearance beyond Rs 2 lakh. Besides, RBI said that multi-level checking should be done before clearing cheques above Rs 5 lakh.
Banks should ensure that the beneficiary is Know-Your-Customer (KYC) compliant so that the bank has recourse to him/her as long as he/she remains a customer of the bank. RBI has stressed on the need to closely monitor credits and debits in newly opened transaction accounts based on risk categorisation.
It has been reported that in some cases even though the original cheques were in the custody of the customer, cheques with the same series had been presented and encashed by fraudsters. RBI advised banks to take appropriate precautionary measures to ensure that the confidential information are neither compromised nor misused either from the bank or from the vendors’ (printers, couriers, etc.) side.
Banks have also been told to exercise due care and secure handling in the movement of cheques from the time they are tendered over the counters or dropped in the collection boxes by customers.
RBI advised banks to review and strengthen controls in the cheque presenting/clearing and account monitoring processes and to ensure that all procedural guidelines, including preventive measures, are followed meticulously by the dealing staff/officials.
Banks have been asked to send an SMS alert to payer/drawer when cheques are received for clearing and examine cheques under UV lamp for clearance beyond Rs 2 lakh. Besides, RBI said that multi-level checking should be done before clearing cheques above Rs 5 lakh.
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According to RBI, banks should ensure the use of 100 per cent CTS 2010 compliant cheques. “Strengthening the infrastructure at the cheque handling service branches and bestowing special attention on the quality of equipment and personnel posted for CTS-based clearing, so that it is not merely a mechanical process,” said RBI.
Banks should ensure that the beneficiary is Know-Your-Customer (KYC) compliant so that the bank has recourse to him/her as long as he/she remains a customer of the bank. RBI has stressed on the need to closely monitor credits and debits in newly opened transaction accounts based on risk categorisation.
It has been reported that in some cases even though the original cheques were in the custody of the customer, cheques with the same series had been presented and encashed by fraudsters. RBI advised banks to take appropriate precautionary measures to ensure that the confidential information are neither compromised nor misused either from the bank or from the vendors’ (printers, couriers, etc.) side.
Banks have also been told to exercise due care and secure handling in the movement of cheques from the time they are tendered over the counters or dropped in the collection boxes by customers.