CBN imposes N20m fines, accreditation withdrawal for cheque violations

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced stricter penalties for banks and accredited cheque printers that breach cheque standards, including fines of up to N20 million and possible withdrawal of accreditation.

In a circular dated February 10, signed by Hamisu Abdullahi, Director of Banking Services, the regulator outlined the revised sanctions under the Nigeria Cheque Standard (NCS) and Nigeria Cheque Printers Accreditation Scheme (NICPAS) 2.0.

The measures aim to strengthen the clearing system and ensure compliance with current banking industry standards.

Under the new rules, commercial banks that use unaccredited cheque printers risk a N10 million fine, while repeat offences attract a N20 million penalty and withdrawal of the affected cheques.

Banks and printers that fail to submit personalised cheque samples for testing will face a N5 million fine, and violations of proper encoding, security, and quality standards carry minimum penalties of N10,000 per instrument.

Cheque printers introducing unapproved security features face N10 million fines per feature, which are shared equally with the bank. Repeated noncompliance with approved standards can trigger reprinting at the offender’s cost and fines of up to N20 million.

Subcontracting more than 50 percent of cheque printing outside approved business continuity arrangements could also lead to N20 million fines and possible withdrawal of accreditation for repeat breaches.

The CBN further warned that failure to respond to regulatory queries within seven days will attract a daily fine of N1 million, while continuous default exceeding 21 days may result in a minimum three-month suspension of accreditation.

Introducing unapproved watermarked paper will lead to the withdrawal of the affected cheques from circulation and a N20 million fine, with repeat violations potentially resulting in the loss of accreditation.

The central bank directed all stakeholders to comply with the revised framework, which takes immediate effect.

CBN had previously proposed a five-year ban for serial dud cheque issuers on November 5, 2025.