Republic Bank To Cease Encashment Of Commercial Cheques For Non-Account Holders

From December 2nd, Republic Bank will no longer facilitate the encashment of commercial cheques for people who do not maintain an account at its bank. Republic Bank says this change has become necessary to reduce risk to customers, given the increasing instances of cheque fraud observed in the market, and is urging customers to use its Online Transfer and Payment Features. It notes that all commercial cheques will be treated as crossed cheques, requiring the payee to deposit the cheque into a bank account for clearing through the Inter-Bank Clearing System. However, this will not affect Government Issued Pension, Disability and Social Welfare cheques, as well as Personal Republic bank cheques.