Starting from tomorrow Thursday 1 April, the old cheque book will cease to be accepted at the clearinghouse as the implementation of the newly revised cheque book begins across the nation.
Both the old and the newly revised cheque books have been running parallel but the last day for the old cheque book is Wednesday 31st March 2021.
CBN had in January extended the implementation of the revised cheque book which ought to have started 1 January 2021 and immediately advised all Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) accredited Cheque Printers/Personalised, and the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), to enlighten their customers on the revised cheque book, introduced across all banks.
Sam Okojere, Director, Banking Services Department, in a circular posted on the CBN website, said it was imperative for the Apex bank to enlighten the stakeholders about the circular, owing to the different interpretation for its intended purpose.
The implementation was earlier fixed for January 1 but extended to April 1, 2021, owing to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact it had on the Nigeria Cheque Standard (NCS) and Nigeria Cheque Printers Accreditation Scheme (NICPAS) Version
Okojere explained then that based on the CBN’s circular dated Dec. 9, 2020, referenced BKS/DIR/CIR/GEN/02/042 on the subject, the parallel run, in which old and new cheques are allowed to co-exist, will end on 31st March 2021, and thus only new cheques would be allowed in the clearing system from 1st April 2021.
“Full enforcement of the second edition of the Nigeria Cheque Standard (NCS) and Nigeria Cheque Printers Accreditation Scheme (NICPAS) Version 2.0 will commence April 1, 2021, and the NCS/NICPAS 2.0. The sanction grid will be fully operational on April 1, 2021.
“All deposit money banks are (therefore) directed to actively enlighten their customers and ensure necessary provisions are put in place for a smooth migration to the New standard.
Consequent to the directive from the CBN, Deposit money banks have communicated to their customers on the above policy implementation by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), advising them that the deadline for the validity of the current cheque design is 31 March 2021
“Effective April 1, 2021, however, the current format cheque leaves will no longer be accepted in the cheque clearing system. Kindly ensure that you request the new cheque booklet if you have not done so before the cut-over date to enable us to continue processing your cheques for clearing”, a bank said in a notice to its customers
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