CBN: Cheque breaches by banks, printers now attract fines of up to N20m

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced a tougher penalty regime for banks and accredited cheque printers, tightening control over the country’s cheque clearing and production system in a bid to enhance safety, efficiency and confidence in the process.

Commercial banks that engage unaccredited cheque printers or personalisers risk having such cheques withdrawn from circulation and paying a N10 million fine. For repeat violations, the penalty rises to N20 million, alongside withdrawal of the affected cheques.

Under the revised rules, cheque personalisers that fail or refuse to submit accredited personalised cheque samples for testing and analysis after a CBN or MTIC audit will be fined N5 million.

The new sanctions are contained in a circular dated February 10, 2026, signed by Director of the Banking Services Department, Mr Hamisu Abdullahi. The notice was issued to all Deposit Money Banks as well as accredited cheque printers and personalisers operating under the Nigeria Cheque Standards (NCS) and the Nigeria Cheque Printers’ Accreditation Scheme (NICPAS).

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According to the apex bank, the review of the earlier 2019 sanctions framework became necessary to reflect changes in the banking industry and to further protect the integrity of the Nigeria Clearing System. The updated grid applies to banks, printers and personalisers that violate provisions of NCS/NICPAS 2.0.

Accredited personalisers that fail to encode cheques properly or that do not meet mandatory security and quality requirements will pay a minimum of N10,000 per instrument, based on audit findings or customer complaints. Printers that begin cheque production without proper job order validation will receive a warning for the first offence, while repeat breaches will attract a N1 million fine.

The CBN also imposed a N10 million penalty for introducing any unapproved security feature into cheque production. This fine will be shared equally between the commercial bank and the accredited printer, with each paying N5 million where applicable.

Cheque printers that fail to submit required samples and quality assurance reports will be liable to a N20 million fine. Subcontracting more than 50 percent of a job to another accredited printer or personaliser, outside an approved Business Continuity Management or Disaster Recovery arrangement, will also attract a N20 million penalty and may lead to withdrawal of accreditation for repeat offenders.

Failure to produce or personalise cheques strictly in line with NCS/NICPAS standards will require offenders to reprint or re-personalise at their own cost, in addition to a N10 million fine. A second violation will attract a N20 million penalty and reprinting at the offender’s expense.

The apex bank further warned that printers and personalisers that do not establish or execute a Business Continuity Management or Disaster Recovery Plan with another accredited operator will first be issued a warning and given a minimum of three months to comply. Failure to do so will result in suspension of accreditation.

Subcontracting jobs to non-accredited printers or personalisers will attract a six-month suspension of accreditation and a N10 million fine. Operators that fail to request or obtain delivery confirmation for shipped consignments will receive a warning, followed by a N2 million penalty for repeat breaches.

Similarly, failure to provide the mandatory six months’ notice before suspending or ceasing operations, or four weeks’ notice of changes that may affect accreditation, will attract warnings and N2 million fines for subsequent violations.

Cheque printers and personalisers that ignore CBN or MTIC queries on infractions will first receive a warning. If no response is received within seven days, a N1 million fine per day will apply. Continuous default beyond 21 days may lead to suspension of accreditation for at least three months.

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For banks, failure to validate Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) data at the point of truncation will attract a minimum fine of N10,000 per instrument. The use of unapproved watermarked paper will result in withdrawal of the affected cheques from circulation and a N20 million fine, with possible withdrawal of accreditation for repeat offences.

The CBN directed all stakeholders to ensure strict compliance with the new rules, signalling a more aggressive enforcement approach as it seeks to strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s payments and settlement system.