• First dud cheque: 10% penalty, warning and report to the Bank of Ghana and Credit Reference Bureaus.

• Second dud cheque within one year: 15% penalty and another report to the regulators and credit bureaus.

• Third dud cheque within one year: 20% penalty, at least three-year ban on issuing cheques and one-year restriction on accessing new credit.

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has warned bank customers against issuing dud cheques, saying repeated offences can lead to heavy financial penalties, restrictions on access to credit and a ban on issuing cheques.

A dud cheque is a cheque issued from an account that does not have enough money to cover the amount written on it. If this happens, the bank rejects the cheque and returns it as unpaid. The account holder may face penalties and legal action.

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In the Bank of Ghana’s Revised Dud Cheques Notice – 2026, it noted a heavier punishment when the offence is repeated.

For a first offence, the customer’s bank is required to charge a penalty of 10% of the face value of the cheque. The bank must also issue a warning notification explaining the consequences of issuing another dud cheque.

The offence will additionally be reported to both the Credit Reference Bureaus and the Bank of Ghana. In terms of numbers a cheque for GH¢10,000 will attract a 10% penalty which would amount to GH¢1,000.

According to BoG, the punishment increases when a customer issues another dud cheque within one year of the first offence. For the second offence, the bank is required to charge a levy of 15% of the cheque’s face value (the amount written on the cheque).

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Another warning notification must also be issued, while the offence is again reported to the Credit Reference Bureaus and the Bank of Ghana.

BoG warned that the consequences become much serious when a customer issues a dud cheque for a third time within one year of the first offence.

The bank will impose a levy of 20% of the cheque’s face value and report the offence to the Credit Reference Bureaus and the Bank of Ghana.

After the financial penalty, the customer will be banned from issuing cheques for at least three years. The customer will also be prevented from accessing new credit facilities from the banking system for one year.

The Bank of Ghana will further notify all banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) of the ban.

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An SDI is a financial institution licensed to take deposits from customers but operating under a specialised banking or deposit-taking licence.

When a dud cheque is reported to a Credit Reference Bureau, it can damage the person’s creditworthiness, the Bank of Ghana has warned customers.