Outline of New Check Processing Mechanism Approved

Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to approve the outline of new reforms to the check processing system. “All the previous measures adopted by the legislature and the  judiciary in the struggle to eliminate the large pile of bounced checks have failed”, hence the need for the major overhaul, Hassan Norouzi, spokesman of the Majlis Judicial and Legal Commission, told an open session of the parliament on Sunday, IBENA reported. The parliament voted 194-1 in favor of the new amendments that call for toughening the requirements for opening a bank account to receive a check book, imposing credit restrictions on check book holders and developing a public database on the status of checks, among other things.