The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has issued a new directive imposing stricter sanctions on customers who issue dud cheques, in a bid to safeguard confidence in the country’s payment system.
The notice, numbered BG/GOV/SEC/2026/12, supersedes earlier directives from 2021 and 2025, and takes immediate effect. It outlines escalating penalties for offenders, ranging from fines to bans on cheque issuance and restrictions on access to credit facilities.
Under the new rules, a first offence attracts a levy of 10 percent of the cheque’s face value, alongside a formal warning and surveillance for one year. A second offence within the same year incurs a 15 percent levy, while a third offence results in a 20 percent levy and a minimum three-year ban on issuing cheques. Offenders may also be barred from accessing new credit facilities for one year.
The directive further requires banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) to recall unused cheque books from sanctioned customers, submit monthly reports on dud cheques to the BoG, and conspicuously display copies of the notice in banking halls and on official websites.
BoG Secretary, Aimee Vyda Quashie (MS), signed the notice on June 24, 2026, stressing that the measures are intended to discourage malpractice and ensure the integrity of Ghana’s financial system.
The Central Bank warned that institutions failing to comply with the directive will face sanctions under the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930).
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