The Reserve Bank of India has introduced ‘speed clearing' system in all clearing houses across the State, an official spokesman said here. Kerala has become the first State to implement the facility in this manner, he added.

Customers can present cheques payable anywhere in the country to any clearing house. But the branch on which the cheque is drawn should be core banking-enabled.

An outstation cheque is treated as a local cheque here. The procedures under this facility are faster and cheaper, as against the seven or more working days taken in the extant system of outstation cheque collection. Savings bank account holders will not be charged for getting their cheques amounting to Rs 1 lakh passed through speed clearing.

Service charges to be levied for collection of other cheques are left to the discretion of individual banks to decide.