BoG cracks down on dud cheques with tougher sanctions
Customers who repeatedly issue dud cheques could lose access to new loans and be barred from using cheques for years under a stricter enforcement regime introduced by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
The central bank’s revised framework imposes escalating sanctions on account holders whose cheques are returned unpaid due to insufficient funds, with repeat violations attracting both financial and administrative penalties.
Under the regime, a first offence attracts a penalty equivalent to 10 per cent of the cheque amount and is reported to both the Bank of Ghana and Credit Reference Bureaus. A second offence within a year increases the penalty to 15 per cent.
However, customers who issue a third dud cheque within the same period face the toughest consequences. In addition to a 20 per cent surcharge, they will be prohibited from issuing cheques for at least three years and denied access to new credit facilities across the banking sector for one year.
The Bank of Ghana said information on such violations will be shared with credit reference agencies, a move that could affect an individual’s credit profile and make future borrowing more difficult or costly.
Financial institutions have also been directed to retrieve unused cheque books from customers placed under a cheque-issuing ban and suspend the issuance of new cheque books until the sanction period expires.
The central bank warned that customers who fail to return unused cheque books after being notified could face further restrictions, including a possible ban on operating current accounts and inclusion in the BoG’s directory of high-risk cheque issuers.
The measures form part of efforts to strengthen confidence in cheque transactions and promote greater financial discipline among account holders. BoG has advised customers to confirm that sufficient funds are available before issuing cheques and to take into account pending transactions that could reduce their account balances.
Source: CNR
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