SBI gives more time to associate bank customers to collect new cheque books; validity of old ones ends on 31 December

The State Bank of India (SBI) has clarified that customers who had accounts with its erstwhile associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank can now get new cheque books printed with new IFSC till 31 December, 2017. The cheque books issued by their earlier banks will stand invalid by the revised deadline, according to a statement from the bank. The largest public sector lender had earlier set 30 September as last date for customers to collect new cheque books but later on relaxed the rule, according to a report in The Economic Times. IFSC stands for Indian Financial System Code which is a unique identity given to every bank branch. It is used in online transactions that include NEFT, RTGS and IMPS done through internet banking. After the merger with associate banks, the bank has changed names and codes of identified branches in major cities in country. In April this year, the five associate banks – State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, Sate Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore – and newly formed all women’s bank the Bharatiya Mahila Bank merged with SBI. Customers can visit their nearest SBI branch for collecting new cheque books. They can also get the document either at ATMs or by logging in to SBI mobile banking app. However, there is some relief for the SBI customers who still wanted to transact through old codes for some time. In the past the officials at the bank had informed that electronic payments made using old IFSC will be halted by the bank. The bank has made it clear that the old codes have already been mapped with the new ones so as to remove any hassle from online transactions. Similarly, the IFSC given to any financial institution, for an ECS for mutual fund SIP, should also get through, the report said.