Banking operations of the State Bank of India (SBI) and its associate State Bank of Travancore (SBT) are set to become faster and more efficient with the migration to the Cheque Truncation System (CTS) by June 2015.
The two banks have assured the Bankers Clearing House at Chennai (BCHC) that all the non-MICR clearing houses in Kerala would be closed by June this year to migrate to the CTS system. The commitment was made at the fifth general body meeting of BCHC held in Kochi on Saturday.
The CTS system involves the capture and transmission of electronic images of cheques across the banks, thus obviating the need for physical transfer of cheques in the clearing cycle. By eliminating the chance of cheques being lost, tampered or pilfered, it ensures better security and improved customer service.
While non-MICR clearing involves manual sorting of cheques, the MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) system employs an automated mechanism based on the MICR data printed on cheques for settlement at the clearing house. Both, however, involve physical transfer of cheques to drawee banks.
BCHC manages the Chennai-based southern grid for the CTS. V. Vasanthan, Chief General Manager, Reserve Bank of India and president, BCHC, appealed to member banks to adhere to the CTS schedule for better customer service.
