Bounced cheques at 17-year low

Bounced cheques in the Cyprus Central Bank preliminary Information Register reached last year reached its lowest level since 2003 while for the first time their total value was under a million.

In December alone, the value of bounced cheques registered, amounted to €51,231 while for the year their total value amounted to €741,700, a decrease of €672,028 compared to 2019.

In 2019 the total value of bounced cheques was €1,413,728, following a steadily declining trend from 2016 onwards.

The value of bounced cheques in Cyprus reached its peak in 2009 when they amounted to €9,302,614.

In December, the number of bounced cheques registered was 45 from a total of 454 registered in 2020, compared to 914 registered in 2019.

Last month, 10 legal entities and 21 individuals were registered in the preliminary register while for 2020, a total of 147 legal entities and 129 people were blacklisted.

Defaulters have declined compared to 2019 when 218 legal entities and 284 people were registered.

The total number of people in the preliminary register was 276 which is the lowest number since 2003, compared to 502 in 2019 and 2,503 recorded at their peak in 2003.