Central Bank of India Resumes RTGS Services Following Technical Glitch and Police Investigation

MUMBAI — Public sector lender Central Bank of India (CBI) announced on October 25 that it has resumed its Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transactions across all channels. The bank clarified that a technical issue had occurred in the interface environment of the localized RTGS server maintained at the bank's end.

Addressing security concerns, the bank stated that no customer accounts were impacted by the technical glitch and that its Core Banking Solution (CBS) system remains entirely safe and secure.

The resumption follows a temporary suspension of RTGS payment services that was initially announced by the bank on September 24. Prior to the service interruption, the bank reported an incident to the Mumbai Police stating that ₹13.9 crore was siphoned off from its settlement account with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). According to the bank's report, the funds were removed through multiple transfers executed between October 15 and October 17.

The bank reported to law enforcement that it was initially unaware of how the transfers had occurred. Local police authorities have been able to only partially trace a few of the transactions thus far. With the technical issues addressed and verification completed, CBI has now restored normal RTGS operations for its payment services.

"This incident highlights the critical importance of robust cybersecurity infrastructure and continuous monitoring, particularly for interface environments connected to central banking settlement systems. While it is reassuring that customer accounts remained unaffected, financial institutions must prioritize tightening internal controls and localized server security to prevent unauthorized access and maintain systemic trust in digital transactions." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes