Panaji: For the past four days, Deoniz Noel has been making the same tiresome journey to the Union Bank of India branch in Navelim. Each morning, he waits in a queue, seeking answers about a cheque that should have been cleared six days ago. “They keep saying the system is down or still updating,” he sighs, reflecting the frustration shared by many Goans this festive season. What was meant to be a smooth transition to the Reserve Bank of India’s new real-time cheque clearance system has instead become a bottleneck that is disrupting business payments and festive purchases. The new process was supposed to get cheques cleared and deposited within a day, replacing the old batch-based method that took two to three business days. Instead, technical integration troubles, low-quality image scans, and untrained staff have left customers staring at their empty wallets. “Single-day clearance of cheques happens only if the cheque is presented before 11am. Our collection agent comes and collects all the cheques and takes them to the clearing office. This is still trial and error. Some people’s cheques have not been cleared for four days. Some cheques are getting cleared in a day and some are getting left behind,” said a personal banker working with HDFC Bank in Panaji. Across the state, the fallout is being felt keenly as Diwali approaches. Many employees have not received their salaries on time, derailing plans to book new vehicles or buy festive home appliances. A major chain of electronic and home appliances discouraged potential buyers from paying by cheque, saying that cheques are not getting cleared on time. For customers like Noel, these technical snags are more than just a nuisance. They have turned routine banking into a daily confrontation with banking staff. “Diwali is around the corner. With cheques not being cleared, people are facing significant problems. I got several calls from people who deposited their cheques on Oct 4 and Oct 6 but their cheques have not cleared. This is a problem for businessmen and traders who depend on cheque payments,” said Margao resident Prabhav Naik. However, the disruption remains limited since a large number of customers and major companies have migrated to online payments such as NEFT and UPI for fund transfers. While teething troubles were expected, bankers have found different reasons for the delays, often infuriating customers. An official at the HDFC Porvorim branch told a customer that the problem was a global issue. A PSU bank official said that the computer systems are being updated.
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