The Central Bank of Iran has told banks and credit institutions to prepare the conditions to provide services to checkbook holders via automatic teller machines (ATMs).
ATMs ease access to checkbook holders for registering check transactions data online, according to rules that came into effect in March.
New check farmwork requires issuers to register data such as date of issue, amount and ID details of the beneficiary on special check portals.
ATMs would be used to facilitate registration and exchange of checks, according to Ameneh Nadali-Zadeh, the CBI deputy at the Payment Systems Department, Eqtesad News reported.
Accordingly, both issuers and recipients of checks can use their debit cards to register check data via the ATMs. The debit card must be of the same bank that has issued the checkbook.
Prior to this, registration of check data was possible only via internet banks or mobile bank portals. As per new rules, all check transactions must be registered on the special Sayyad platform.
So far only two banks provide check transaction services via ATM but the option will be available in all other banks by mid-January.
The CBI said that it will expand the platforms to facilitate check transactions. According to Nadali-Zadeh, in the near future checks can be registered with short-service messages (SMS) to ensure easier access to the service.
Checkbook holders are banned from issuing "bearer checks", as per the new rules. As the name suggests, bearer checks are payable to the person who brings the check to the bank.
The official said new check rules have helped in reducing the number of bad checks. CBI data shows that bad checks dropped sharply in the month ending Oct 22. Total value of bounced checks was down 16.6% on the earlier month reaching 262 trillion rials ($875m).
By the end of the month the number of bad checks was reported at 476,000 down 32.9%. In volume terms such checks accounted for 8.8% of the total checks -- the lowest in six months.
