Bad checks are big deal

September 06, 2019

Bad checks are a huge fixture of the Iranian scene, which didn’t see many checks at all until recent decades.

According to the Central Bank, in the Persian month ending July 22, 9 percent of all the checks written bounced, accounting for 11 percent of the face value of all checks that month.

Compared to the previous month, that was an increase of 16 percent in the number of bounced checks and 19 percent in the value (or non-value) of those checks.

The data cover interbank checks processed by Chekavak, a Central Bank affiliate electronic check processing system.

Kurdistan Province had the highest ratio of bounced checks to transacted checks. Of all drawn checks, 17 percent bounced in that province.