BoG Imposes 3-Year Cheque Ban, Up to 20% Levy on Dud Cheque Issuers
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has announced tougher sanctions on customers who issue dud cheques, introducing a 3-strike regime that can lead to a 3-year ban on cheque issuance and a 1-year ban on new credit facilities.
The measures are contained in Notice BG/GOV/SEC/2026/12, the latest directive from the central bank aimed at curbing the persistent issuance of worthless cheques by some customers of banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions.
Despite earlier notices BG/GOV/SEC/2021/03 and BG/GOV/SEC/2025/31, the Bank of Ghana said it continues to observe with grave concern the high rate of dud cheques in the banking system.
The practice, according to the central bank, has undermined confidence in cheques as a payment instrument and created ripple effects on transactions across the financial sector.
Under the new directive, a customer who issues a dud cheque for the first time will be levied 10% of the cheque’s face value by the drawee bank or SDI.
The institution must also issue a warning notification to the customer explaining the consequences of a repeat offence.
The warning can be sent by SMS, email or any established communication channel and must be documented.
The bank or SDI is required to report the incident to Credit Reference Bureaus and the Bank of Ghana, and place the customer under surveillance for a minimum period of one year.
Where a customer repeats the offence a second time within one year of the first incident, the levy increases to 15% of the cheque’s face value.
Another warning notification must be issued, and the offence reported to Credit Reference Bureaus and the central bank.
A third offence within one year triggers the harshest sanctions, with the drawee bank or SDI imposing a levy of 20% of the cheque’s face value and reporting the customer to Credit Reference Bureaus and the Bank of Ghana.
The central bank will then ban the customer from issuing cheques anywhere in the country for a minimum of three years.
The customer will also be barred from accessing new credit facilities from the banking system for one year, though they may still receive cheques and funds into the affected account and continue with other electronic transactions.
Upon receiving notification of the ban, the drawee bank or SDI must inform the customer within five working days, recall all unused cheque books and refrain from issuing new ones until the sanctions are lifted.
The Bank of Ghana said it may publish the list of third-time offenders.
Customers who fail to return unused cheque books within ten working days of the ban notification will be reported to the Bank of Ghana.
The central bank may ban such customers from operating any current account and add them to a new Directory of High-Risk Cheque Issuers that will serve as a reference point for the banking industry.
The notice also places fresh compliance obligations on banks and SDIs as they must continue submitting data on dud cheque issuers to Credit Reference Bureaus in line with Section 25 of the Credit Reporting Act, 2007.
Monthly returns on dud cheques must also be filed with the Bank of Ghana by the 10th day of the following month in the prescribed format, with a “Nil Report” required for months with no incidents.
Failure to submit returns, or the submission of inaccurate or incomplete returns, will attract sanctions under Section 93 of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016.
Banks and SDIs that fail to comply with the new directive face sanctions under Section 92(8) of the same Act.
The central bank has directed all banks and SDIs to conspicuously display copies of Notice BG/GOV/SEC/2026/12 in banking halls and on official websites to ensure customers are aware of the new regime.
Story by Hajara Fuseini
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