The Bank of Ghana has rolled out enhanced sanctions targeting individuals and businesses who issue cheques without sufficient funds, marking a significant escalation in the central bank’s fight against a practice that threatens confidence in the country’s financial system.
The directive, issued on October 14, 2025, comes as the central bank expressed grave concern over the rising number of dud cheques despite previous warnings. The new measures represent a revision of earlier guidelines introduced in 2021, which authorities say have been widely flouted.
Under the escalating penalty structure, first time offenders now face a charge of 10% of the cheque’s face value. Banks and specialized deposit taking institutions must also issue warning notifications, report the violation to both the Bank of Ghana and credit bureaus, and place the offending account under surveillance for one year.
Second violations trigger a steeper 15% penalty, accompanied by another formal warning and mandatory reporting. But it’s the third offense where consequences become particularly severe.
Third time offenders will be banned from issuing cheques anywhere in Ghana for a minimum of three years, according to the directive. They’ll also be blocked from accessing new credit facilities for one year, though they can still receive payments and conduct electronic transactions.
The penalty for a third offense climbs to 20% of the cheque’s value. Even more significantly, all unused cheque books must be recalled within five working days. The central bank has indicated it may publish names of repeat offenders in national newspapers, effectively creating a public registry of violators.
Those who fail to surrender their cheque books within ten days face an even harsher fate: being banned from operating any current account and added to what the directive calls the Directory of High Risk Cheque Issuers. This blacklist will be referenced by banks before opening new accounts, potentially shutting offenders out of mainstream banking services.
The directive reminds the public that under Section 313A of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, issuing a dud cheque remains a criminal offense punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to five years. These administrative sanctions come in addition to, not instead of, possible criminal prosecution.
The central bank hasn’t limited accountability to cheque issuers alone. Financial institutions that fail to enforce these rules will themselves face sanctions, creating a compliance incentive throughout the banking system.
The crackdown reflects broader concerns about transaction integrity in Ghana’s financial sector. Dud cheques disrupt business operations, erode trust between trading partners, and can trigger cascading effects throughout supply chains. For small businesses particularly, bounced cheques can mean the difference between staying operational and facing liquidity crises.
What makes this directive notable isn’t just the severity of penalties, but the systematic approach to enforcement. The combination of escalating financial penalties, public naming, credit bureau reporting, and eventual banking system exclusion creates multiple pressure points designed to change behavior.
The measures also reveal the persistence of cheque usage in Ghana’s economy despite the growth of electronic payment systems. While digital transactions have expanded rapidly, cheques remain important for certain business transactions, making their reliability crucial for commercial confidence.
Whether these enhanced sanctions will succeed where previous measures failed remains to be seen. The real test will come in consistent enforcement and whether the threat of public exposure and financial exclusion proves sufficient deterrent for those tempted to write cheques they can’t honor.