Opposition calls on BOJ to ensure banks allow cashing of cheques

 The Opposition People's National Party says it has been receiving complaints that some commercial banks are refusing to cash cheques drawn on accounts held with those banks.

Mark Golding, opposition spokesperson on finance, stated that: “Based on complaints received, the refusal to cash cheques is causing significant inconvenience for customers of those banks. It is also distressing for persons to whom customers draw cheques with the intention of the cheques being negotiated at the bank where the account is held.

Golding says while supports reasonable steps by banks to encourage their customers to make greater use of electronic and online channels for payment transactions, this should not be done in an arbitrary or insensitive way.

"It is unfair and unwise, and quite possibly a breach of the contract governing the bank account, for a bank to adopt a policy of refusing to allow the negotiation and encashment of a cheque drawn on a bank account in which there are cleared funds or an approved overdraft facility sufficient to cover the amount of the cheque. Cheques are negotiable instruments under the Bills of Exchange Act, and banks should not be issuing cheque books to customers while at the same time precluding the use of those cheques in the customary, lawful manner.”

The Opposition says it is therefore calling on the Bank of Jamaica to intervene to take steps to protect the interests of depositors who choose to use cheques in this customary, lawful way.

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