Rajasthan Cities Under Spotlight Following The UCO Bank Incident

In the aftermath of a recent UCO Bank incident involving a suspected technology glitch, attention has turned to Jaipur and Jodhpur in Rajasthan, as per a report by the Economic Times. The glitch raised concerns as it nearly resulted in a significant shortfall of Rs 820 crore for the state-run lender.

On multiple occasions earlier this month, customers in these places encountered an issue wherein their attempts to transfer funds through Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) from IDFC First Bank savings accounts to UCO Bank resulted in the credited amount going into the UCO Bank account without a corresponding debit at IDFC First, as outlined in UCO Bank's initial findings. The first instance of this unusual transaction was observed on November 10.

"The transactions observed by the bank were due to internal technical issues as a result of which certain account holders of our bank have received some erroneous credits via IMPS," UCO Bank said in a statement.

Functioning as an instant interbank electronic funds transfer system, IMPS can operate without any intervention.

The bank had took action to block the recipients' accounts and managed to recover a substantial portion of the amount. They have retrieved Rs 649 crore out of the total Rs 820 crore, accounting for approximately 79 per cent of the funds involved.

"Our top management is closely monitoring the matter. There are some preliminary findings. But it is still to be ascertained on whether it happened due to a human error or system failure. The Central Bureau of Investigation is looking into the matter," a senior bank official told ET anonymously owing to the confidentiality of the matter.