Mr. Shawwa, “People on C and D bright Categories of the Returned Cheques System May Arrive to Exceptional Consensual Settlement”

Ramallah and Al-Bireh, December 15, 2020 - His Excellency the Governor of Palestine Monetary Authority, Mr. Azzam Shawwa, said that people on C and D categories of the returned cheques system will be allowed to conduct an exceptional consensual settlement of the returned cheques at their expense and to adjust their categorization accordingly between January 1 and March 31, 2021. Consequently, people in these categories, who have not previously been able to make a consensual settlement of the returned cheques, may contact the banks they bank with and make an exceptional consensual settlement to change the categories they are listed under only once. Submission of applications for exceptional consensual settlement will be suspended after this deadline.

Mr. Shawwa confirmed that, as part of Palestine Monetary Authority's measures to reduce the number of returned cheques, the 3-month period corresponding to the period of a return cheque to a client’s account, would be adjusted to a full calendar year as of the date of the client’s first returned cheque. The categorization of clients shall be based on all returned cheques during the year for all categories (B, C, D) as of January 1, 2021.

According to Mr. Shawwa, these exceptional measures come as confirmation from Palestine Monetary Authority of the need to return the rights to their rightful owners through the settlement of returned cheques and payment of their value to the beneficiary of the cheques, and in consideration of the economic conditions that Palestinian people are going through.

Since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, and in the framework of the ongoing efforts to mitigate the economic effects of the current health crisis, Palestine Monetary Authority has issued many instructions to banks and lending institutions to relieve clients of economic burdens and to keep the economy going by allowing borrowers to postpone their loan instalments until the end of the financial crisis resulting from the health crisis and irregular payment of civil servants’ salaries.  Moreover, instructions have been issued to banks not to charge commission on returned cheques of civil servants and private sector employees whose salaries had been delayed or affected during the current health crisis. Banks have also been instructed not to charge fees on settlement of returned cheques in the system of consensual settlements of returned cheques during the coronavirus pandemic as of March 1, 2020, explained Mr. Shawwa.