This is the third time the NCHL announced the launch date after failing to introduce the service in mid-Nov and Dec 12 due to differences between commercial banks and other financial institutions on tariff rates.[break]
“These disputes have been settled now,” Neelesh Man Singh Pradhan, CEO of the NCHL, told Republica. “On top of that, we were also waiting for Nepal Rastra Bank´s green signal which we have now received.”
In the initial days, the company will, however, handle checks in foreign currencies only.
“We have decided to adopt this preventive measure as volume of foreign checks is relatively small and errors can be rectified immediately if there are any,” he said, requesting not to misinterpret this step as company´s inability to install a proper system that can handle bigger loads.
“Our system is perfect and we have been conducting tests for the last two and a half months. It´s just a preventive measure,” Pradhan explained, while explaining the company will start clearing Nepali checks “within two weeks of launching of the service”.
Once the system is introduced, a person who has an account in, say, Bank ´A´ but has received payment through check issued by, say, Bank ´B´, can have the amount deposited in Bank ´A´ within two to five and half hours, without going to Bank ´B´.
Currently, this process of clearing checks takes up to two days, as banks and financial institutions handle checks physically -- meaning the banks have to send someone along with the check to the central bank prior to settlement of payments.
But once the electronic system is introduced, banks will only scan the check and send the image along with other details to the NCHL, which will then be forwarded to Nepal Rastra Bank.
Related story
Fully-automated online trading system from mid-November
