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The
Star Saturday May 26,
2007
Half-day
cheque: Banks to have new
clearance system soon
KUALA LUMPUR:
Malaysians will no longer have
to wait several days for cheques
to clear after a new electronic
clearance system is introduced
in August – every cheque,
whether local or outstation,
will clear in just about half a
day.
Bank Negara has directed all
banks to comply with the
paperless Cheque Truncation and
Conversion System (CTCS),
according to Rototype
International group chief
executive officer Harres Tan.
Rototype makes the cheque-clearing
kiosks and scanners that support
the system.
CTCS is expected to be in
full operation by early next
year.
With it, the cheques are
scanned and images are
transmitted into a bank's
system. Bank personnel will
verify the cheques on computer
terminals.
The images of the verified
cheques will then be transmitted
to Bank Negara, and they will be
cleared within 12 hours, said
Tan, who spoke at the Bank Tech
Asia 2007 conference here.
“If the cheque is deposited
after banking hours, it will be
cleared by 2pm the next day.”
Images of the cleared cheques
will also be stored in a central
image archive operated by Bank
Negara.
Tan said the system is
already being used in the United
States.
CTCS transactions can be done
in two ways – either at a bank
counter or via Rototype’s
self-service kiosks on the
premises.
“Either way, the process will
be the same,” Tan said.
At the counter, he said, the
cheques will be put through a
desktop scanner that will
capture its image and time-stamp
it before sending it to be
verified.
He said the kiosks work the
same way, but are able to handle
up to 35 cheques per
transaction.
Tan said most banks would
also be looking to better secure
their automated teller machines
(ATMs) in the near future.
He said they would likely be
installing biometric security
features in the machines to
prevent unauthorised use.
“Customers will need to place
their thumb on a reader at the
ATM before proceeding with a
transaction,” he said.
A foreign bank in the country
has already adopted this
feature, said Tan.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/5/26/nation/17810639&sec=nation
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