Bank of Ghana Warns Against Dud Cheques Under Revised 2026 Notice

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has intensified public education on the issuance of dud cheques as part of its Financial Literacy Revised Dud Cheques Notice 2026.

A dud cheque, according to the Central Bank, is a cheque drawn on an account by a customer for which there are insufficient funds to pay the amount specified on the cheque.

The BoG explains that a dud cheque occurs when there are insufficient funds in the account to honour the cheque.

When this happens, the bank will reject the cheque, return it unpaid, and impose penalties as directed by the Bank of Ghana. The account holder may also face legal action.

Under the revised sanctions regime, a customer who issues a dud cheque for the first time will be charged 10 per cent of the cheque’s face value, issued a warning notification, placed under surveillance for at least one year, and reported to the Credit Reference Bureaus and the Bank of Ghana.

A second offence within one year of the first attracts a 15 per cent levy on the cheque’s face value, another warning, and fresh reporting to the credit bureaus and the BoG.

For a third offence within one year, the customer faces a 20 per cent levy and will be banned from issuing cheques in Ghana for a minimum of three years and barred from accessing new credit facilities from the banking system for one year.

The Bank of Ghana will notify all banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) of the ban and may also publish the list of third-time offenders.

The central bank says the tougher measures have become necessary because of the persistent high issuance of dud cheques, which it says undermines confidence in cheques as a payment instrument and affects the integrity of the payment system.

The BoG reminded the public that under Section 313(A) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), it is an offence punishable by a fine and/or up to five years’ imprisonment to issue a dud cheque.

Customers are therefore advised to ensure sufficient funds in their accounts before issuing cheques.

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