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Value of cheque transactions down 1.4% in Sep: RBI

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Press Trust of India Mumbai

The total value of transactions carried out using cheques across the country amounted to Rs 7.64 lakh crore in September, 2011, down by 1.4% vis-a-vis the same month last year.

Banks had cleared cheques worth Rs 7.75 lakh crore in September, 2010, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data.

The number of cheques cleared by banks in September, 2011, however, went up by 2.6% in comparison to the same month last year.

A total of 11.12 crore cheques were cleared by banks during the month under review, compared to over 10.84 crore in the corresponding month of 2010.

During the April-September period, the total value of transactions carried out using cheques stood at Rs 48.88 lakh crore, as against Rs 49.15 lakh crore in the same period a year ago, a marginal dip of 0.1%.

 

In addition, a total of 66.62 crore cheques were cleared by banks during the first six months of the current fiscal, a decline of almost 3.5% from 68.37 crore in the April-September period a year ago.

In September, the Mumbai region reported the highest number of cheque clearances, as well as the maximum transaction value for any zone.

Banks in the Mumbai region cleared a total of 1.96 crore cheques, with total value of over Rs 1.26 lakh crore.

In the Delhi region, banks reported that 1.29 crore cheques with a total value of a little over Rs 1.05 lakh crore were cleared in September.

The Chennai region stood third, with banks reporting a total 62.5 lakh cheque clearances worth over Rs 44,600 crore.

Cheque transactions have been on the decline during the past few years with the growth of the electronic transfer medium, according to experts.

The value of cheque transactions in the country declined by 2.6% year-on-year to Rs 101.33 lakh crore in FY11. Delhi and Bangalore were the only major centres to report a rise in the value of clearances last fiscal.

However, the total number of cheques cleared by banks across the country grew marginally by 0.4% in FY11. Over 1.38 lakh crore cheques were cleared by banks across the country last fiscal, as against 1.30 lakh crore in FY10.

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First Published: Nov 13 2011 | 11:22 AM IST

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