UAE cheques worth Dh26.2B bounced in H1
dubai — Nearly 4.3 per cent of cheques worth Dh26.2 billion issued by UAE residents and entities bounced during the first half of 2018, according to central bank data.
In total, over 12 million cheques worth Dh592 billion were passed through the UAE cheque clearing system, according to statistics published on Tuesday by the Central Bank of the UAE.
The value of the cheques that were circulated from January to the end of May represented around 39.3 per cent of the total value of the cheques circulated in 2017, which reached Dh1.5 trillion.
According to UAE Central Bank’s
May data, gross credit to private sector totalled Dh1.11 trillion by national and foreign banks, a month-on-month increase of 1.1 per cent and a year-on-year growth of 4.5 per cent. Loans to individuals declined 0.1 per cent on a month-on-month basis but increased by 2.7 per cent on a yearon-year basis, amounting to Dh337.1 billion.
Dubai Courts last year decided to issue fines instead of jail sentences for bounced cheques to help instill confidence among the business community and ensure that those in debt can resolve their issues.
The ruling, which came into effect on December 4, 2017, means those responsible for bounced cheques of up to Dh50,000 will be fined Dh2,000, while those who bounce cheques of between Dh50,000 and Dh100,000 will have to pay a Dh5,000 fine, and for cheques between Dh100,000 and Dh200,000, a fine of Dh10,000 will be levied.
Moreover, Dubai Public Prosecution had also activated a new penal order system that would allow minor misdemeanours and offences to be dealt with through fines rather than the court system.