e-Payment must for public sector banks from July 1

New Delhi: The finance ministry has asked state-run banks to stop making payments to their customers through cheques from July 1 and to "migrate totally" to electronic payment channels, a move aimed at cutting costs in a sluggish economy.

In a circular issued to chairmen of public sector banks and regional rural banks, the ministry said all payments to customers, staff, vendors and suppliers as well as disbursement of loans and payments towards investments should be made only through the electronic mode.

According to the ministry's estimate, state-run banks spend Rs 4,000- Rs 8,000 crore every year on handling of cheques.

"The cost of handling a cheque during its life cycle, from printing till storage and destruction, is Rs 25 to Rs 40," said a finance ministry official. "Banks have significantly invested in technology as well as in developing various applications for electronic payment. That should be put to use."

The circular said concerted efforts should be made by the banks and their sponsored regional rural banks to popularize e-payments and to bring down the number of transactions through cheques.

"Banks need to undertake the audit of adoption of e-payment and action must be taken against officers concerned where the cheque-based systems are found to be in use," the circular said.

The ministry has asked the banks to identify branches accounting for the highest share in business. The top 20% branches in terms of business volume will have to reduce cheque-based transaction by at least 20% in the current fiscal, the circular said.

"We have told banks to reduce the charges for NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) to zero for value up to Rs 1 lakh," the official quoted above said.

"Any loss of revenue in such cases can be made up through higher savings on the cost of cheque or ATM transaction."

The ministry has also directed banks to revisit their incentive schemes to include the promotion and transition to electronic transfer as one of the performance parameters for officers at the branch and zonal levels.

Banks, however, say the ministry's advice is not well thought out. "How do you discourage users in smaller towns from using cheques who consider them as a kind of security," said a general manager with Bank of India.

According to data compiled by the Reserve Bank, there were 1.34 billion cheque transactions, valuing about Rs 98 lakh crore, in 2011-12. During the same period, the value of electronic transactions was around Rs 22 lakh crore.

"The number of cheque transactions have declined by only 4% in the last four years and this needs to be corrected," the official said. The ministry has asked banks to explain it to customers that electronic funds transfer enjoy the same legal backing as cheques.