New cheque rules: 5 things to know
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently changed cheque-rules to tackle the rise in cheque-related fraud cases. It asked banks to put preventive measures in place and follow them meticulously. It also issued some other guidelines in this regard. Here is what you need to know: 1) SMS alerts: The RBI asked banks to send an SMS alert to both payer and drawer when the cheque is received for clearing. Till now, SMS alerts were compulsory only for debit/credit card transactions. While dealing with suspicious or cheques of high value, banks have been asked to alert the customer by a phone call and obtain confirmation from both the parties involved in the transaction. The account holder’s bank branch must also be contacted. 2) Examination of cheques: Besides sending alerts, banks have been asked to examine cheques under UV lamp. This is applicable if the cheque amount goes over Rs 2 lakh. Also, a mechanism must be put in place to ensure multi-level checking of cheques for amount over Rs 5 lak...