THE Monetary Board, the policy-making body of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, extended by one month the deadline for banks to fully comply with the one-day electronic clearing of checks.
The board advised clearing participant banks of Philippine Clearing House Corp. to “fully comply with the check image clearing system standard, or by April 21, 2017.”
Under the system, only the digital images of checks and their electronic payment information will be transmitted to the paying bank, allowing a shorter turnaround time for funds to be credited to the depositors’ accounts.
Depositors who transact with CICS-compliant banks may withdraw on the next banking day against their validated check deposits.
Bangko Sentral earlier encouraged clients to get in touch with their banks about the new system and reminded banks on how to properly prepare checks under the CICS.
To achieve faster transition to the new process, Bangoo Sentral enjoined the non-CICS-compliant banks to take necessary measures to meet the technical requirements of electronic check clearing.
The implementation of CICS forms part of the banking reforms to achieve a more efficient and safe payment system as this is critical to the promotion of the country’s financial stability, the central bank said.
PCHC on Jan. 24, 2017 issued a memorandum to all clearing banks and financial institutions to clarify the advisories previously issued with regard to the handling of checks under the new system.
PCHC said checks which were folded or had staple holes should be accepted by banks as long as the image and the information on the check were still clearly visible upon inspection.
It said checks without the word “only” after the amount written on the check, with empty spaces not ruled out, or information not written in dark-colored ink should not be reasons for non-acceptance by banks. No standard format on the date on the checks is required.