The Gujarat Urban Cooperative Banks Federation (GUCBF) has raised alarm over serious disruptions caused by the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) newly introduced Continuous Clearing System under the Cheque Truncation System (CTS).
In a strongly worded letter to the RBI’s Department of Payment and Settlement Systems (DPSS), the federation warned that the “unprecedented delays” in return clearing have triggered confusion and panic among a wide range of banks, including private, public sector, and cooperative institutions.
GUCBF Chief Executive Officer J.V. Shah, in his communication to the RBI’s Chief General Manager, referred to the central bank’s circular (dated September 28, 2025) on Special Clearing in CTS on October 3, 2025.
It was mentioned in the said circular that the Special Clearing Return Session on October 3 would be between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. In this connection, the federation informed that member Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) received the Return Clearing files for October 3 only at 10:20 p.m. on that day.
Similarly, as mentioned in the RBI circular, the Return Clearing Session timing was fixed around 7:00 p.m. from October 4, 2025, to January 2, 2026. However, the Return Clearing for October 4, 2025, was received at 11:30 p.m. on October 5, 2025.
“This inordinate delay has caused operational disruption and severe hardship to Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs),” the letter said. “Such delays are likely to result in defaults in the maintenance of Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and are creating widespread anxiety among customers due to non-credit of proceeds on the same day,” Shah added.
According to the federation, the issue is no longer confined to cooperative banks alone. “The delay in clearing has become a matter of panic not only for private and public sector banks but also for a large number of cooperative banks across the country,” the letter stated, underlining the magnitude of the disruption.
While acknowledging that technical challenges may arise during the initial implementation of a new system, the GUCBF urged the central bank to take immediate corrective action.
It also requested the RBI to consider postponing the implementation of continuous clearing by one month to ensure smoother functioning during the upcoming Diwali season, when cheque volumes are expected to rise sharply.
“The current situation, if not addressed swiftly, may lead to widespread operational bottlenecks, customer dissatisfaction, and reputational challenges for the banking system as a whole,” the federation warned.
Even i faced a cheque bounce on Sunday which was not mentioned earlier and not even received a notification about the new clearing system from RBI niether my local bank informed me about the same, hence I faced a Cheque bounce even on Sunday which is not acceptable as per the rules. So I please request RBI and even my 25 to 30 years old current account since the branch opened in our locality, which is think is not acceptable. But when I approached the manager he too was not sure about the rules of the new clearing system. At last he just replied saying that it vl be 7 days of the week and 365 days of the year, no government holidays vl be considered in this new rule. So yet I am confused about the new rules of the clearing system.. So hence forth I feel that the current account holders must be clearly made aware of the new clearing system applied.
This problem is not just impacting cooperative banks, it is impacting the common man as well. I sold my apartment and received a DD from the buyers bank. The DD is still not cleared and it is now more than 48 hours since i deposited the DD in my bank. So i have sold my property, registration already done but i am yet to receive the sale proceeds in my bank account.
This problem is not just impacting cooperative banks, it is impacting the common man as well. I sold my apartment and received a DD from the buyers bank. The DD is still not cleared and it is now more than 1 week since i deposited the DD in my bank. So i have sold my property, registration already done but i am yet to receive the sale proceeds in my bank account.
It’s very rediculus that I have deposited my cheque for clearing on 26.09.2025 till now as on 10.10..2025 not get credited. Nearly 15 days bank not responding for not get clearing the cheque. Bank asking me to take back the cheque and to do the RTGS from my home branch. If they cannot do the clearing in one day why they implemented this process.
My account deposit done
My account deposit done