The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has postponed the implementation of Phase 2 of its faster cheque clearance framework, which was earlier scheduled to come into effect on January 3, 2026.
In a circular issued on December 24, the central bank announced that the second phase of the Continuous Clearing and Settlement (CCS) framework has been deferred until further notice. Meanwhile, Phase 1 of the system will continue to operate without any changes.
Revised Cheque Processing Timings
Along with the postponement, the RBI has revised cheque processing hours. Under the updated schedule:
- Cheque presentation window: 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
- Cheque confirmation/rejection window: 9:00 am to 7:00 pm
These revised timings will apply until further instructions from the regulator.
What Changed Under Phase 1
The RBI introduced the CCS framework under the Cheque Truncation System (CTS) to speed up cheque clearing by eliminating the traditional batch-based process. CTS enables cheque settlement using digital images and electronic data, doing away with the physical movement of cheques between banks.
Effective October 4, 2025, Phase 1 introduced a single, continuous presentation window during the day. Banks now scan cheques and transmit their images along with MICR data to the clearing house as and when cheques are received, rather than waiting for predefined clearing batches.
Once the drawee bank receives the cheque image, it electronically approves or rejects the transaction. If no response is sent by the end of the confirmation window, the cheque is deemed approved and settled automatically.
What Phase 2 Was Intended to Do
Phase 2 was designed to further accelerate cheque clearance by imposing a three-hour deadline on banks to approve or reject a cheque after receiving its image. Failure to respond within this time would have resulted in automatic approval and settlement, significantly reducing clearing time for customers.
Impact of the Postponement
With Phase 2 now deferred, the most time-bound element of the CCS framework will be delayed, and cheque clearing will continue under the existing Phase 1 process without the strict three-hour mandate.
The RBI has stated that a revised rollout date for Phase 2 will be announced separately.
