MUSCAT: With people and businesses adopting digital payment methods for transactions, the volume of unpaid cheques in the country has dropped to 9.8 per cent in 2023, according to data issued by the Central Bank of Oman.
According to the data, the volume of unpaid cheques within the system declined from 387,000 in 2022 to 362,000 in 2023. “This decrease represents a 9.8 percent reduction in the proportion of unpaid cheques to the total number of cheques presented in the system during 2023,” CBO stated in the 2024 Financial Stability Report.
The majority of unpaid cheques, in terms of volume, are returned due to financial reasons rather than technical reasons. “Specifically, “Insufficient Funds” remains the leading cause behind unpaid cheques, with a total volume of 291,444, accounting for 80.5 percent of all unpaid cheques. This is followed by “Account Closed / Frozen / Transferred”, totaling 31,614 cheques (8.73 percent),” CBO said.
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It’s important to note that a bounced cheque or having an unpaid cheque is considered a serious offense in Oman and may result in legal consequences, including fines and imprisonment.
However, the number of cheque payments has decreased notably, going from approximately 4.7 million in 2018 to 3.7 million in 2023. Meanwhile, mobile payment usage has witnessed a substantial surge, with transactions increasing by 726 percent and value increasing by 507 percent in 2023.
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