29,334 dud cheques submitted in 2017

A total of 29,334 dud cheques were submitted to credit bureaus in 2017; this represents a 47% reduction from 2016 position of 55,665 submitted records, according to information from the Bank of Ghana.

Dud cheques issued by individual customers of banks accounted for 42% of total dud cheques submitted with the remaining 58% committed by commercial customers of banks.

Dud cheques reported to credit bureaus are cheques that go through the clearing system and therefore do not include internal cheques of financial institution.

Submission of Dud Cheques the Credit Reporting Act, 2007 (ACT 726) requires financial institutions to submit data on dud cheques issued by customers of financial institutions to credit reference bureaus

Complaints and Resolutions

Besides, a total of 1,418 complaints and disputes were received by Banks and Financial Institutions from customers in 2017. This figure represents an increase of 11% compared to 1,280 complaints in 2016. This increasing trend is attributable to the increased awareness of credit referencing among the public and also due to the quality of data submitted to credit bureaus by financial institutions.

Most of the recorded disputes were as a result of customers with impaired credit reports occasioned by inaccurate information on the credit reports and who were subsequently refused credit facilities. These errors are either caused by financial institutions or the credit bureaus.

The Credit Reporting Act, 2007 (ACT 726) was enacted to provide a framework for credit reporting and other related matters. The Act empowers the Bank of Ghana to have overall supervisory and regulatory authority in all matters relating to credit reporting.

The Bank of Ghana therefore monitors the operations of credit bureaus and financial institutions to ensure compliance with prescribed standards and statutory requirements. This activity includes credit bureau licensing, data provider operations, data protection, dispute resolution, submission of reports, application of sanctions and other incidental matters. Uptake of credit referencing activities in 2017 increased significantly compared to previous years. This was made possible due to increased awareness and supervision by the Bank of Ghana.