After an unprecedented upsurge a month earlier, the number of bad checks reversed course in the month to January 19 posting decline in number and value.
The number of bounced checks was 678,000 down 24%, according to data released by the Central Bank of Iran. The value of returned checks fell 10.5% compared to the earlier month to reach 209 trillion rials ($836 million).
It said the figures are much lower than the monthly rise of 31.1% in volume and 5.6% in value a month earlier driven mainly by the business lockdowns to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the month to Jan.19, bad checks accounted for 8% and 11.1% of all drawn checks respectively in terms of volume and value.
Compared to the same period last year, the percentage of bad checks was lower by 0.2 percentage points but grew 1 percentage point in value.
An estimated 181,000 checks worth 93 trillion rials ($372m) bounced in Tehran Province, accounting for 7.1% and 10.1% of volume and value of drawn checks in the capital area that is home to 12 million people.
In terms of number, Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province topped the list with the highest ratio of bad checks to transacted checks at 15.8%.
Ilam Province was second at 12.7% and Lorestan third with a ratio of 11.7%. Provinces with the lowest ratio were Gilan at 5.8%, Alborz 7.2% and Mazandaran 7.3%.
Drawn Checks
More than 8.4 million checks worth 1,885 trillion rials ($7.54 billion) were drawn in the 30 days. The number of drawn checks went down 10.7% while the value increased 1.4%, compared to the month earlier.
Of all the checks drawn in the month, 2.5 million worth 917 trillion rials ($3.66 billion) were issued in Tehran Province.
Tehran was first with the highest volume and value of drawn checks, accounting for 30.1% and 48.7% of all drawn checks, respectively.
Isfahan Province was second both in volume and value, representing 11% of all drawn checks and 7.2% of the value of checks issued in the month.
Around 626,000 cashier checks worth 1,082 trillion rials ($4.3b) were cleared by the banks indicating 28.5% decline and 14.9% rise, respectively in volume and value.
More than 198,000 checks worth 593 trillion rials were cashed in Tehran.
A cashier's check is a check guaranteed by a bank, drawn on the bank's own funds and signed by a cashier. Cashier checks are treated as guaranteed funds because the bank, rather than the purchaser, is responsible for paying the amount.
The CBI report covered only interbank checks processed by Chekavak, a CBI-affiliated electronic check processing system, and did not include checks circulated within branches of a single bank.
