Bank of Ghana introduces strict sanctions for dud cheque offenders

The Bank of Ghana has introduced an escalating penalty regime to combat the issuance of dud cheques, which the central bank states has undermined public confidence in cheques as a payment method. Under the revised rules, a first-time offence will result in a penalty equivalent to 10% of the cheque’s face value, a warning, and a report to the Bank of Ghana and Credit Reference Bureaus.

A second offence within one year of the first will incur a 15% penalty of the face value, along with further warnings and reporting. A third offence within the same one-year period triggers the most severe sanctions: a 20% penalty of the face value, a minimum three-year ban on issuing cheques, and a one-year restriction on accessing new credit facilities from the banking system.

Financial institutions and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) are required to submit monthly returns on dud cheques to the Bank of Ghana by the 10th of each following month. The central bank will notify all regulated institutions when a customer is banned from accessing new credit to ensure the sanctions are enforced across the financial sector.