First stage of project to speed cheque
The Bank of Thailand and member banks will start using the Imaged Cheque Clearing and Archive System (ICAS) in Bangkok and surrounding areas on February 3 in the hope of eventually reducing cheque-delivery costs by about Bt600 million per year.
"In the initial period of ICAS implementation, it may not be possible to reduce operating costs instantly and, after that, we will need to review how to optimise benefits for all [participants]," BOT Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul said yesterday. Currently, about 300,000 cheques are sent each day around the country.
Cheques cleared in Greater Bangkok represent about 71 per cent of the total number in Thailand, and 89 per cent of the country’s cheque value. The central bank expects to complete ICAS migration to all branches of member banks, including commercial banks and specialised financial institutions, in Bangkok and surrounding areas within three months, and plans migration across the whole country next year.
"The ICAS will allow one-day cheque clearance nationwide. It’s like one clearing system and one clearing house," Prasarn said.
Under the ICAS, when a customer deposits a cheque at a bank, it will send the cheque images and related data online to the BOT’s electronic clearing house. This will then sort the images and data before sending them to the appropriate paying bank for verification and approval of payment. Imaged cheques will be kept in the Image Archive System for 10 years.
During the initial stage, special cheques such as those with corporate seals will still need to be sent from sending banks to paying banks, as they cannot be handled by the ICAS.
"We will ask banks to reduce cheques with corporate seals so that all cheques are in the ICAS," Prasarn said.
Cheques worth Bt1 billion or more will also be required to be sent for clearing, because of their high value.
Once the ICAS is installed for all bank branches nationwide, all cheques will be cleared in one day, boosting money circulation by about Bt1.64 billion and lowering people’s opportunity costs by about Bt100 million, the governor added. At present, cheques cleared across provinces take about three to five working days to complete.
The ICAS is a pilot project for law enforcement on electronic transactions and could be extended to other electronic financial transactions, Prasarn said, adding that the system was also in line with the central bank’s payment system road map.
The system stems from joint development by the BOT, the Thai Bankers’ Association and other Electronic Cheque Clearing System members to speed up cheque clearance and achieve higher efficiency and lower operating costs.
