Manual cheque clearing closed in Birgunj

Nepal Rastra Bank has stopped manual cheque clearing in Birgunj.

Nepal Clearing House Limited (NCHL)'s electronic cheque clearing has come into full operation from all the branches of member banks and financial institutions  located in Birgunj.

It is a major milestone in the rollout of NCHL-ECC after having been fully operational from Kathmandu, where manual clearing was stopped from December 16, 2012 said NCHL chief executive Neelesh Pradhan. "With this, it is now possible for cheques being presented from/to any of the member banks in Birgunj to be processed the same day," he said, adding that some 41 banks and financial institutions that were members of manual cheque clearing.

Non-standard cheques (cheques currently in use) presented by 12:00pm and standard Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) enabled cheques presented within 14:00pm are cleared the same day, whereas cheques presented after the cut-off time will be cleared the next business day.

Some member banks may have set their own cut-off time and hence customers are required to consult their respective banks for such cut-off times.

NCHL currently has 101 member banks and financial institutions including Nepal Rastra Bank under its network.

Having been observed the benefits of national electronic cheque clearing, many of the member banks and financial institutions have already started using it from their branches across the country. After the successful migration of manual clearing to electronic cheque clearing at Birgunj, it is expected to provide additional boast for NCHL-ECC rollout in other regions also.