ICICI Bank has introduced a major benefit for its customers. From October 4, 2025, cheques will be cleared on the same day they are deposited.
This step follows new guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
With this change, customers will no longer need to wait 1–2 days for funds; the money will be available faster.
New Rule and Its Implementation
ICICI Bank has informed customers through email that cheques will be cleared on the same day starting October 4, 2025.
The RBI has decided to make cheque clearing continuous and real-time, replacing the older batch system.
The rollout will happen in two phases:
Phase 1 – from October 4, 2025
Phase 2 – from January 3, 2026
This means customers will get the money credited to their account on the same day instead of waiting.
Conditions for Same-Day Clearing
ICICI Bank has set certain conditions:
Cheques must be deposited before the branch’s cut-off time (varies by branch).
The cheque should be properly filled and enclosed.
The customer must have sufficient balance in the account.
Errors, overwriting, or corrections on the cheque will lead to rejection.
Positive Pay System for Fraud Protection
The bank also reminded customers to use the Positive Pay System to prevent fraud.
In this system, customers send cheque details (account number, cheque number, name, date, and amount) electronically to the bank.
When the cheque is presented, the bank cross-verifies these details.
Rules for Positive Pay:
Recommended for cheques above ₹50,000.
Mandatory for cheques above ₹5,00,000.
If a cheque above ₹5 lakh is deposited without Positive Pay confirmation, the bank will return it.
RBI’s New Guidelines
In August 2025, the RBI announced changes in the Cheque Truncation System (CTS):
From October 4, 2025, there will be one clearing session daily, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
Banks will continuously scan cheques and send them to the clearing house.
The clearing house will instantly send images to the drawee bank for settlement.
This system will remove delays and ensure same-day cheque clearance.
How Cheques Were Cleared Earlier
Earlier, under the CTS system, banks sent scanned copies of cheques in batches.
The settlement was done the next day, causing a delay of 1–2 days before customers received funds.
