Cheque Book Facility to Continue in Banks; No Proposal to Withdraw Old Transaction Method, Says Finance Ministry

New Delhi, Nov 23: The Finance Ministry on Thursday clarified that there is no proposal to withdraw cheque book facility from banks to push digital transaction. In a series of tweets, the Finance Mini

Updated: November 23, 2017 8:54 PM IST

By India.com Business Desk | Edited by Aadil Ikram Zaki Iqbal

Cheque Books

New Delhi, Nov 23: The Finance Ministry on Thursday clarified that there is no proposal to withdraw cheque book facility from banks to push digital transaction. In a series of tweets, the Finance Ministry said that the government has no intentions to withdraw the old transaction method as some media outlets reported earlier.

“The Government of India has reaffirmed that there is NO proposal under consideration to withdraw the bank Cheque Book facility,” the Finance Ministry said in a tweet. “It had appeared in a certain section of media that there is a possibility that the Central Govt may withdraw bank cheque book facility in the near future, with an intent to encourage digital transactions.This has been denied by the Govt & reaffirmed that there’s no such proposal,” read another tweet from the ministry.

On November 16, a senior functionary of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said the Centre might withdraw the bank cheque book facility in the “near future” to encourage digital transactions. “In all probability, the Centre may withdraw the cheque book facility in the near future to encourage digital transactions,” Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of CAIT, was quoted as saying.

The government has been taking steps to promote digital transaction since the it demonetised the old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency. There was a spike in digital transactions post the note ban and introduction of digital wallets, quick response (QR) codes, unified payment interface (UPI) and Aadhaar Pay. However, more than 95 per cent transactions today happen via cash and cheques and only 5 per cent of the total 80-crore ATM-cum-debit cards are used for cashless transactions.

Also Read:

For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Read more on Latest Business News on India.com.

By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts Cookies Policy.