The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) Clearing House processed cheques valued at BD3.74 billion ($9.9 billion) in 2007, an increase of 25.6 per cent over the previous year.

The incidence of returned (or dishonoured) cheques declined to an all-time low of 2.4 per cent of total value of cheques written in 2007.  In terms of numbers, cheques processed by the CBB Clearing House totaled 2.75 million in 2007, an increase of 7.2 per cent over the previous year, said an official spokesman.

“Cheques remain a popular mode of payment by consumers in Bahrain, as demonstrated by the year-on-year growth in cheque clearing by the National Clearing House,” said director, Banking Services at the CBB Ahmed Buhijji.

The number of cheques cleared by the CBB has grown by one-third over the past five years, while the value of cheques written has grown 89 per cent during the same time, he pointed out.

“The CBB is committed to maintaining confidence in the use and acceptability of cheques as a payment instrument and we are actively focused on reducing the incidence of cheque abuse,” said Buhijji.

The incidence of returned cheques has declined by 10 per cent over the past five years and has been halved in the past decade, according to CBB statistics.

The per centage of returned cheques declined to a record low of 2.4 per cent of total cheques cleared by the CBB during 2007. In terms of value, returned cheques amounted to BD75.8 million, which represented two per cent of the total value of all cheques written in 2007. 

The incidence of cheque abuse, as part of the overall phenomenon of returned cheques, also continued a downward trend. The number of cheques returned due to insufficient funds in the account, account being closed, funds not arranged for or cheque being referred to the drawer, totaled 49,934, which was an all-time low of 1.8 per cent of total cheques cleared during 2007.

“The steady decline in cheque abuse and the overall phenomenon of returned cheques is largely due to CBB efforts to ensure confidence in this important mode of payment,” said Buhijji. – TradeArabia News Service