Third-time dud cheque offenders to face 3-year ban- BoG

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has tightened regulations on dishonoured cheques, introducing harsher penalties for repeat offenders as part of efforts to strengthen discipline within the banking sector.

Announcing the measures in Notice No. BG/GOV/SEC/2026/12, the Central Bank expressed concern that the issuance of dud cheques remains widespread despite previous interventions.

The Bank said it had observed “with grave concern the high issuance of dud cheques” and warned that the trend was undermining confidence in cheque-based transactions.

Under the new rules, customers who issue dud cheques for the first time will be penalized and monitored by their financial institutions.

The notice directs that offenders be placed “under surveillance for a minimum period of one year” while details of the offence are reported to Credit Reference Bureaus and the Bank of Ghana.

For customers who repeat the offence within a year, the sanctions increase significantly.

However, the toughest punishment is reserved for third-time offenders.

“The Bank of Ghana shall ban such a customer from issuing cheques within the country for a minimum period of three years,” the directive stated.

The Central Bank added that affected customers “may, however, be permitted to receive cheques and funds into the affected account and perform other electronic transactions on the account.”

Beyond the cheque ban, the notice said repeat offenders would lose access to fresh borrowing from the banking sector.

“In addition, the Bank of Ghana shall ban such a customer from accessing new credit facilities from the banking system for one year,” it said.

The directive also requires banks to retrieve unused cheque books from sanctioned customers and stop issuing new cheque books until the sanctions expire.

The Bank warned that customers who fail to return unused cheque books after notification could face further action and may be listed in a new “Directory of High-Risk Cheque Issuers” being established by the Central Bank.

Banking halls and official websites of banks and SDIs have also been directed to prominently display the notice to ensure public awareness of the new sanctions.

The Bank of Ghana says the strengthened measures are intended to deter abuse of cheque facilities and preserve trust in Ghana’s financial and payment systems.