Customers who repeatedly issue dud cheques risk being barred from accessing new credit from banks and financial institutions for one year under revised measures introduced by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
The sanctions apply to customers who issue dud cheques for a third time.
The BoG announced the revised measures in a Dud Cheque Notice issued on September 7, 2026.
Under the new framework, third-time offenders will also be required to pay a levy equivalent to 20 per cent of the face value of the dud cheque.
The central bank said it would notify all banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) when a customer is banned from accessing new credit.
For a first offence, banks and SDIs are required to impose a levy of 10 per cent of the face value of the dud cheque.
The financial institution must also issue a warning to the customer, outlining the consequences of repeating the offence.
The offence must further be reported to the Credit Reference Bureaus and the Bank of Ghana.
For a second offence committed within one year of the first, the levy increases to 15 per cent of the cheque’s face value.
The bank or SDI must again issue a warning to the customer and report the offence to the Credit Reference Bureaus and the BoG.
The BoG has also reminded banks and SDIs to continue submitting information on customers who issue dud cheques to Credit Reference Bureaus in accordance with Section 25(c) of the Credit Reporting Act, 2007 (Act 726).
Banks and SDIs are required to submit monthly returns on dud cheques to the BoG by the 10th day of the following month.
Institutions must also submit a nil return in months when no dud cheques are recorded.
The central bank said the revised directive had become necessary because the practice of issuing dud cheques continued despite earlier warnings.
According to the BoG, the practice has undermined public confidence in cheques as a means of payment.
The revised measures are therefore intended to deter the practice and restore confidence in the payment system.
The BoG defines a dud cheque as “a cheque drawn on an account by a customer for which there are insufficient funds to pay the amount specified on the cheque.”
Source: Wesleyannews.com
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