Viral Posts Falsely Claim RBI Banned Cheques Written In Black Ink

Several viral posts on social media are falsely claiming that cheques written in black inc will no more be accepted by Indian banks in order to "enhancing security features" and "preventing fraudulent activities". This claim is being attributed to the statement of a spokesperson for the Reserve Bank of India, in an article written by the Times of India.

BOOM found that no such article exists by Times of India, and neither has any such notice been issued by the RBI. Furthermore, a list of FAQs on RBI's website states that "RBI has not prescribed specific ink colours to be used" for filling up cheques.

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The text-based posts cited Times of India's Mumbai edition's issue on January 14, 2025 as the source of the information, and added, "In a move aimed at enhancing security features and preventing fraudulent activities, the *Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that cheques written in black ink will no longer be accepted from January 1st, 2025.*"

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No Such Article Or Notice

BOOM checked the January 14, 2024 issue of Times of India's Mumbai edition, but was unable to find any article on RBI banning cheques written in black ink.

We further visited the RBI, and went through its list of frequently asked questions (FAQs), and came across a notice dated October 10, 2022, titled "Cheque Truncation System."

Point 8 in the FAQ list clarifies that there are no specific ink colour requirements to write a cheque.

Furthermore, Press Information Bureau's fact-check department also put out a clarification, rubbishing the viral claim as fake.