Cheques are still common in Ghana for rent, school fees, business payments and the deposit on a car or land. They need a current account - a savings account does not come with a cheque book.

— Types of bank account

Writing one

  • Date it today, and write the payee’s name exactly as on their account.
  • Write the amount in words and figures, and make them agree. Draw a line through the space after each, so nothing can be added.
  • Cross it - two parallel lines across the top corner - so it can only be paid into an account, not cashed over the counter.
  • Sign it as your bank holds your signature. A signature that differs is a common reason a cheque is returned.
  • Fill in the counterfoil or keep a note of the number, payee and amount.

Never sign a blank cheque, and never post-date one you cannot cover: a cheque that bounces on its date is a dud cheque whatever you meant.

Accepting one

A cheque is not money until it clears. Before you hand over a car, keys or goods:

  • Pay it in and wait for it to clear into your account.
  • For a large amount, ask for a banker’s draft instead, which the bank itself guarantees, or a bank transfer.
  • Check the name, date, amount in words and figures, and the signature before you leave the person.

Dud cheques

A cheque returned because the account does not hold enough money is a dud cheque. Issuing one without reasonable grounds to believe there is enough money to pay it is a criminal offence under section 313A of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), and since 24 June 2026 the Bank of Ghana requires banks to sanction every customer who issues one:

Within a year Charge on the cheque’s face value And
First dud cheque 10% A formal warning, and at least a year under the bank’s watch
Second 15% Another warning
Third 20% Barred from issuing cheques for at least 3 years, and from new bank credit for 1 year

Every offence is reported to the credit bureaus and the Bank of Ghana. A banned customer must hand back unused cheque books, and one who does not can lose the current account altogether.

If you were paid with a dud cheque

  1. Keep the cheque and the bank’s return slip showing why it bounced.
  2. Ask the person to pay, in writing, giving a date.
  3. Report it to the police, who can prosecute, or sue for the amount and your loss in a civil court. A lawyer can tell you which suits the case.

— Your credit report — Opening a bank account