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Daily cheque returns exceed Rs. 1 bn in 2Q

12 Oct 2022

 
  • Overall cheque returns in Sri Lanka increases by 30% compared to Q2 2021
  • Credit card defaults surpass 190,000 in 1H compared to 181,000 last year
By Imesh Ranasinghe  On average, Rs. 1 billion worth of cheques have been returned on a daily basis in the second quarter of 2022, as the overall cheque returns in Sri Lanka rose by 30% in the second quarter of 2022 (2Q22) compared to 1Q22, with the economy contracting by 8.4% in 2Q22, Central Bank data showed. According to the payments bulletin released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) for 2Q22, a total of 251,400 cheques have been returned during the quarter, with a total value of Rs. 59.6 billion compared to the 192,300 cheques returned in 1Q, indicating an increase by 30.7%. The report also showed that the volume of cheques returned (as a percentage of the total volume of cheques received for clearing) increased to 3.2% in 2Q22 from 2.1% in 1Q22, while the average volume of cheques returned per day was 4,335. The average value of daily cheques returned increased to Rs. 1 billion in 2Q22 from Rs. 681.3 million in 1Q22. The data revealed that out of the total cheques returned during the period, 37.1% were returned under the code “Refer to Drawer” and 16.9% by “Payment Stopped by Drawer”. The increase in cheque returns during 2Q22 is in a background where even the total number of cheques cleared was reduced to 7.9 million from 9.2 million in the quarter earlier.  However, the total value of US dollar cheques cleared during 2Q22 exceeded $ 101 million, with a total of 10,884 cheques cleared from $ 50 million a year earlier. The first quarter of 2022 had only $ 75 million worth of US dollar-denominated cheques cleared. Further, the report showed that credit cards issued during 2Q22 decreased to 64,156, from 82,039 cards issued during 1Q22, as private credit contracted with the high interest rates maintained by the CBSL. Moreover, the total number of defaulted credit cards in the first half of 2022 (1H22) was 190,799, with a total value of Rs 18.8 billion, compared to 181,282 in 1H21. 


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