In July 2024, 36 uncovered cheques were issued in Cyprus for a total of €60,416, compared to 12 uncovered cheques for a total of €13,048 in the previous month.
This was announced by the Central Bank of Cyprus on Monday 12th August.
The cheques were issued by 11 companies and four individuals. The Central Bank said that all the cheques had been added to the preliminary list of the Central Information Repository (CIR), which is maintained by the financial institution.
In turn, between January and July 2024, a total of 170 uncashed cheques worth €363,363 were registered in the CIR, involving 85 persons (58 legal entities and 27 individuals). This confirms an increase compared to the same period last year, when 209 uncovered cheques were registered for a total of €615,811. However, the current figure remains well below that recorded in 2014 (€3.36 million), as well as in 2013 (€5.67 million) and even more so in 2012 (€7.75 million).
The Central Bank of Cyprus also highlighted that in July 2024, the number of persons registered in the CIR increased to 24 (9 legal entities, 4 natural persons and 11 natural persons controlling legal entities). In the first seven months of 2024, 132 persons were registered in theCIR, compared with 179 persons in the corresponding period of 2023. From January 2020 to July 2024, a total of 995 persons (360 legal persons, 199 natural persons and 436 natural persons controlling legal persons) were registered in the CIR.
Finally, between January 2020 and May 2024, around 2,000 bounced cheques were issued in Cyprus for more than €6 million.
The Central Bank of Cyprus stresses that it is closely monitoring the situation and encourages individuals and businesses to exercise financial prudence so as not to contribute to this growing problem.