Nigerian Banks dump old cheques, customers to obtain revised leaflets

Banks in Nigeria have notified customers that effective on Thursday (today), the old cheque leaflets will no longer be acceptable for clearing.

They also urged the customers to get the new revised cheque standard leaflets introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Earlier, the Central Bank of Nigeria had extended the phase-out date for old cheque books from January 1 to March 31.

The banking regulator said this became imperative due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a circular, the CBN stated, “The parallel run, in which old and new cheques are allowed to co-exist, will end on March 31. Only new cheques will be allowed in the clearing system from April 1, 2021.

“Full enforcement of the second edition of the Nigeria Cheque Standard and Nigeria Cheque Printers Accreditation Scheme version 2.0 will commence 1st April 2021 and the NCS/NICPAS 2.0. Sanction grid will be fully operational on 1st April, 2021.”

Fidelity Bank said in a mail to its customers that, “Following the directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria for banks to implement the revised cheque standard with additional security features, kindly contact your relationship manager or visit our nearest branch for a new cheque book if you are yet to obtain one.

“The new cheque leaflet has the following additional features: Expiry date, two-digit security code, QR code and standard dating format.”

-Punch