How to Fill Out and Submit the PPS Form: Channels, Details, and Timing

To fill out and submit the Positive Pay System form, you give your bank five details from the cheque you have just written — account number, cheque number, cheque date, amount, and payee name — through mobile banking, net banking, SMS, or a branch slip, before the payee deposits the cheque. The bank’s Cheque Truncation System (CTS) then matches those details against the physical cheque when it comes in for clearing. If the two sets of data agree, the cheque clears normally. If they don’t, it can be returned unpaid.¹

When You Need to Submit the Form

Banks must offer PPS to every account holder issuing cheques of ₹50,000 and above. At that level, using it is your choice. Some banks let you set a custom threshold at any figure from ₹50,000 upward, so cheques you write above that amount automatically require PPS confirmation.²

At ₹5,00,000 and above, banks may make PPS mandatory, and most do. If PPS is mandatory on your account and you don’t submit the form, the cheque will not be honoured. Bank of India, for instance, returns such cheques with the reason “Advice not received.”³ RBI has also said that only PPS-compliant cheques get access to the CTS dispute resolution mechanism, which is a reason to submit the form even where it is technically optional.¹

Details to Enter on the Form

Keep the cheque in front of you and copy each field from the leaf itself. Every entry has to match the physical cheque exactly. A single transposed digit in the amount or a shortened payee name is enough to trigger a mismatch at clearing.

Account number: Your full account number with the bank that will pay the cheque.
Cheque number: The unique six-digit number printed on the cheque leaf.⁴
Cheque date: The date of issuance exactly as you wrote it on the cheque.
Amount: The exact rupee figure, down to the paisa. A one-rupee difference flags the cheque.
Payee name: The beneficiary’s full name as written on the “Pay” line, including initials and spacing.

A few banks ask for an extra field. SBI requests the two-digit instrument type code printed on the right of the MICR band at the bottom of the cheque.⁵ Deutsche Bank’s form adds a short account number (alpha number).⁶ Check your bank’s PPS screen or branch slip for anything specific to your account.

Ways to Submit the Form

RBI permits banks to accept PPS submissions through SMS, mobile banking, net banking, ATMs, and branch visits.⁷ Not every bank enables every channel, so start with the one your bank actually supports.

Mobile Banking

Log in to your bank’s app and look for a menu named “Service Request,” “Cheque Services,” or similar. In Bank of India’s app, the path is Service Request → Positive Pay System → select the account → enter the cheque number and verify → fill in the amount, date, and payee name.³ The flow at most other banks is comparable. The app shows a confirmation once the entry is accepted.

Net Banking

Sign in to your net banking portal and find the PPS option, usually filed under “Requests” or “Cheque Services.” Pick the account, enter the cheque number, issue date, amount, and payee name, then submit. Retail and corporate customers can both use this channel at most banks.³

SMS

Some banks accept the cheque details by text from your registered mobile number to a dedicated number. Bank of India uses 8130036631.³ Message formats vary, so check your bank’s exact syntax before you send. This is a useful fallback when you don’t have the app or net banking handy.

Branch Visit

Walk into your home branch and fill in a PPS requisition slip with the same five details: account number, cheque number, date, amount, and payee name. Hand the slip to a branch officer, who enters it into the bank’s system. This is the only route if you don’t use digital banking, and it works for retail and corporate accounts alike.

Getting the Data Right

Most PPS rejections come from careless data entry, not fraud. An amount typed with a transposed digit. A payee name abbreviated differently from the cheque. A date one day off. Any of these will cause CTS to flag the cheque, and depending on how your bank handles mismatches, it may bounce before anyone contacts you.

Axis Bank, for one, reaches out to the drawer through the home branch, an SMS alert, or an IVR call. If you confirm acceptance before the cutoff time, the bank honours the cheque despite the mismatch.⁸ The referral process and timing differ between banks, so don’t count on getting a call. Enter the details correctly the first time.

The other common slip is forgetting to submit the form at all. If PPS is mandatory on your account and you issue a cheque without registering it, the cheque returns with a reason such as “Advice not received.”³ Submit the PPS form the moment you write the cheque, before you hand it over. Waiting invites both forgetfulness and timing problems with the clearing cycle.

What Happens After You Submit

When the payee deposits the cheque, the presenting bank sends its electronic image and data to CTS, which cross-checks everything against the PPS details you submitted.⁷ If the data matches, the cheque moves to settlement. If it doesn’t, CTS flags it and notifies both the drawee and presenting banks, after which your bank follows its mismatch policy — either returning the cheque or seeking your confirmation first.¹ You don’t need to do anything further once the form is in; the matching is automated.

1
Reserve Bank of India. Positive Pay System for Cheque Truncation System
2
Central Bank of India. Positive Pay System (PPS) for Cheque Payments
3
Bank of India. Positive Pay System (PPS) for Cheque Related Frauds
4
Bank of Baroda. What Is Cheque – Definition, Types, Cancelation and Features
5
State Bank of India. Positive Pay System – Personal Banking
6
Deutsche Bank. Positive Pay
7
Reserve Bank of India. FAQs on Cheque Clearing
8
Axis Bank. Positive Pay System (PPS)