RBI’s ill-conceived move

RBI understandably, is seriously mulling over the idea of ‘disincentivisation’ of use of cheque books. In other words, use of cheques is going to be discouraged and instead use of electronic remittances and use of Internet Banking and other electronic remittances are to be encouraged. As the regulatory and Public Sector Monitoring agency dedicated to customer interest and investor protection, I fail to understand why RBI should embark upon this task of disincentivisation of cheque leaves. Even advanced (technologically and academically more literate) nations like UK once thought on these lines and later gave up the idea. Major banks nowadays fail to make public the amount of loss of the number of cases under disputed electronic remittances. SBI the major public sector bank of the nation, even escaped revealing such figures under the cover that SBI cards is a separate entity not coming under the public authority of SBI. Under these circumstances, this move of RBI is not in the common man’s interest. The time is not ripe in India to discourage the use of cheques or replace it.