The government on Saturday suspended enforcement of the new check issuance law until next March to prevent check-holders rushing to banks to settle payment issues arising from unfamiliarity with the new rules.
Vice president for economic affairs, Mohammad Nahavandian, said the decision was made by the National Coronavirus Headquarters (NCH) as part of lockdown measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.
"The NCH decided to postpone the law until the end of the year to provide enough time for people to become acquainted with the new law," he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
As per the new rules, check transactions must be registered at a special platform named Sayyad, otherwise banks will refuse to clear the checks. This apparently created hassles for check-holders, Nahavandian concurred.
"The central bank had predicted that people would [gradually] go to the banks due to unfamiliarity with the new platform and avoid crowding due to the coronavirus.”
The new check law came into effect on Dec. 12. Prior to that the CBI said the law would be enforced in phases to facilitate a smooth transition.
"Due to the critical changes in check transactions, including issuance, clearance and endorsement as per the new law, and given the negative economic impact of the coronavirus, the law will be enforced in phases," the CBI said. Doing so would, it said, give the regulator enough time to increase public awareness about the new rules.
Davoud Mohamad-Baigi, the CBI deputy for payment systems, said "getting the people accustomed to new rules in the check law is the main challenge.”
As per the new law passed by parliament in Nov. 2018, the CBI was given two years to prepare infrastructure and launching electronic checks is an essential component of the new law. Electronic checks are supposed to substitute conventional paper checks as part of the amendment to the Check Issuance Law.
The CBI has designed an integrated electronic check system and streamlined electronic check-processing platforms, namely Sayyad and Chekavak, for issuing digital checks.
Sayyad is designed to run a credibility check on account holders wanting to write a check. Chekavak is an electronic check processing system for eliminating the physical circulation of checks and help improve credibility of checks.
