The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has announced stricter sanctions for customers who issue dud cheques, citing continued high levels of the practice despite earlier measures introduced to curb it.

In a notice issued on 24 June 2026, the central bank said the persistent issuance of dud cheques by some customers of banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) was undermining confidence in the country's payment system and affecting the acceptance of cheques for transactions.

Under the new directive, customers who issue a dud cheque for the first time will be charged a levy equivalent to 10 per cent of the cheque's face value and issued with a warning. The offence will also be reported to the Credit Reference Bureaus and the Bank of Ghana, while the customer will be placed under surveillance for a minimum of one year.

Customers who issue a second dud cheque within one year of the first offence will be charged a levy of 15 per cent of the cheque's face value and issued with another warning. The offence will again be reported to the Credit Reference Bureaus and the Bank of Ghana.

For a third offence within one year of the first, the customer will be charged a levy of 20 per cent of the cheque's face value and reported to the Credit Reference Bureaus and the Bank of Ghana.

The Bank of Ghana said customers who commit a third offence will be banned from issuing cheques in Ghana for a minimum period of three years. They will, however, be permitted to receive cheques and funds into the affected account and continue carrying out other electronic transactions.

In addition, affected customers will be barred from accessing new credit facilities from the banking system for one year.

The central bank said all banks and SDIs would be notified of the ban and would be required to recall all unused cheque books from affected customers and refrain from issuing new cheque books until the sanctions are lifted.

Customers who fail to return unused cheque books within ten working days of notification may face additional sanctions, including being banned from operating any current account. Such customers may also be added to a Directory of High-Risk Cheque Issuers to be maintained by the Bank of Ghana.

The notice further directs banks and SDIs to continue submitting information on customers who issue dud cheques to Credit Reference Bureaus in accordance with the Credit Reporting Act, 2007 (Act 726).

Financial institutions are also required to submit monthly returns on dud cheques to the Bank of Ghana by the 10th day of the following month, including nil returns where no incidents are recorded.

The central bank warned that banks and SDIs that fail to comply with the directive could face sanctions under the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930).

According to the notice, the new directive takes immediate effect and supersedes previous notices issued on 11 March 2021 and 14 October 2025.

The notice was signed by the Secretary of the Bank, Aimee Vyda Quashie.