PNB to clear cheques of Rs. 10 lakh & above only after customer confirmation

Punjab National Bank (PNB) said high-value cheques of Rs 10 lakh and above will be cleared after reconfirmation with the issuer under the Positive Pay System (PPS) from April 4.

PNB said to protect the bank customers against large-value cheque frauds, it will make the Positive Pay System (PPS) mandatory from April 4, 2022.

The Delhi-headquartered lender introduced PPS for cheques of Rs 50,000 and above presented in CTS clearing from January 1, 2021, in accordance with the RBI guidelines.

The banking regulator had said that while availing of the facility is at the account holder’s discretion, and banks may consider making it mandatory for the cheque value of Rs 5 lakh and above.

PNB in a release said that the PPS will now become mandatory from the next month for the cheques of Rs 10 lakh and above.

As per the Positive Pay System (PPS) developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), a customer issuing the high-value cheque has to reconfirm some essential details. The details are then cross-checked while presenting the cheque in clearing before payment.

The lender said its customers will have to share details like account number, cheque number, cheque alpha code, issue date, amount, beneficiary name for clearing the high value cheques under PPS.

These details are to be shared with the bank at least 24 working hours before the cheque is presented for clearing. Customers can share the details through its internet banking, mobile banking, SMS banking or in their home branch in the prescribed format.

“The cheques that are registered in the PPS will only be accepted under the dispute resolution mechanism,” it said.

Last year, the Reserve Bank (RBI) had issued guidelines to the banks to implement PPS system to safeguard customers from the fraudulent collection of high-value cheques.

It had instructed banks to enable the facility for all account holders issuing cheques for amounts of Rs 50,000 and above.