“This significant achievement is anticipated to further bring down human intervention and inefficiencies associated with the current cheque clearing process to a bare minimum
LankaClear (Pvt) Ltd has completely automated the cheque clearing cycle by introducing the online transfer mode of the Cheque Imaging and Truncation System (CITS). With this initiative, Sri Lanka made history by becoming the first in South Asia to launch the Online Transfer Mode of CITS, which replaced the current inefficient practice of transferring the last mile of cheque images via CD-ROMs, the company said in a statement.
“This significant achievement is anticipated to further bring down human intervention and inefficiencies associated with the current cheque clearing process to a bare minimum, thus, allow the banks to further extend their service levels to their customers.”
Operating under the supervision and guidance of the Central Bank, LankaClear launched the Cheque Imaging and Truncation System (CITS) in 2006, which transformed the domestic interbank cheque clearing process by eliminating the cumbersome physical presentation of the cheque, which saved significant amount of time and brought down the processing costs substantially.
With the launch of the Online Transfer Mode of CITS, banks are now able to transmit the MICR data of physical cheques via direct online transfer mode to LankaClear through a secured Virtual Private Network (VPN) with end to end encryption. This will be comparatively cost effective to the banks and will also eliminate the hassle of having to deliver the MICR data physically to LankaClear.
The new system went live on 18th October 2016 with the participation of several member banks, namely Hatton National Bank, Commercial Bank, Cargills Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and NDB and subsequently the other bankswould join the online mode. The end objective of introducing CITS online mode is to offer greater flexibility to banks’ customers,reduce the clearing cycle; and further enhance the security aspects of cheque clearing.
Chairman of LankaClear Pvt Ltd., Anil Amarasuriya said, “Sri Lanka was also the first in South Asia to successfully rollout a sophisticated system like CITSway back in 2006. A decade down the line, the company has repeated this success once again by becoming the first South Asian Country to introduce the online transfer mode of CITS, taking a leap towards enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of financial sector in the country.”
General Manager/CEO of LankaClear, Channa de Silva said, “By this initiative, we came one more step closer to help banks to increase their efficiencies and enhance customer experience. We have taken our role of helpingthe country to achieve financial inclusivity seriously and channeled all our innovations to achieve this objective.We firmly believe that by continuously introducing new innovations, such as CITS online mode, LankaClear is fulfilling its obligations to the nation by bringing technology closer to the hearts of the people in this country,thus, making their day-to-day life even more simplified and convenient.”