What is "CTS-2010 Standard" for Cheque Forms?
PAPER-BASED cheque clearing continues to be one of the popular modes of initiating payment transactions in the country. Several measures have been initiated by Reserve Bank of India to ensure that this retail payment product functions in a safe and efficient manner.
It has been decided to prescribe certain benchmarks towards achieving standardisation of cheques issued by banks across the country.
The benchmark prescriptions shall be known as "CTS-2010 standard, specifications”, some of which are as follows:
Mandatory features:
Paper should be image friendly and have protection against alterations by having chemical sensitivity to acids, alkalis, bleaches and solvents giving a visible result after a fraudulent attack. CTS-2010 Standard paper should not glow under Ultra-Violet (UV) light i.e., it should be UV dull. This shall ensure that the feel of cheques is uniform across banks.
Watermark: All cheques shall carry a standardised watermark, with the words “CTS-INDIA” which can be seen when held against any light source. This would make it difficult for any fraudster to photocopy or print an instrument since this paper would be available only to security printers handling cheque printing. The watermark should be oval in shape and diameter could be 2.6 to 3.0 cms. Each cheque must hold at least one full watermark.
VOID pantograph Pantograph with hidden / embedded “COPY” or “VOID” feature shall be included in the cheques. This feature should not be visible on the scanned image at the resolution specified in CTS but should be clearly visible in photocopies and scanned colour images as resolution used in such cases would be above the prescribed CTS standards.
Bank's logo printed with invisible ink (ultra-violet ink): Bank's logo shall be printed in ultra-violet (UV) ink. The logo will be captured by / visible in UV-enabled scanners / lamps. It will establish genuineness of a cheque.
Prohibiting alterations / corrections on cheques: No changes / corrections should be carried out on the cheques (other than for date validation purposes, if required). For any change in the payee's name, courtesy amount (amount in figures) or legal amount (amount in words), etc., fresh cheque forms should be used by customers. This would help banks to identify and control fraudulent alterations.
Printing of account field: All cheques should, as far as possible, be issued with the account number field pre-printed. This should be considered must for current account holders and corporate customers.