Bounced cheque in Cyprus: the electronic record as evidence

In short

When a cheque presented as a digital image bounces, the bank may now record the reason and the date electronically instead of stamping it. That record is evidence in court.

Klitos Platis, advocate

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When a cheque is presented as a digital image of both its sides and is not paid, the bank that presented it may now record the reason for non-payment and the date of presentation electronically. Until now it had to stamp or note them on the paper original.

That electronic record is accepted as evidence before a court, and it is a rebuttable presumption of its truth, exactly as the stamp is. The change is Law 143(I)/2026, published in the Official Gazette on 30 October 2026, which amends section 305A of the Criminal Code, Cap. 154. Our article on the bounced cheque explains the holder’s rights as a whole.

What the law now says

The presenting bank may record the reason and the date electronically. The amendment rewrites paragraphs (b) and (c) of section 305A(4), the subsection on cheques presented by electronic means.

Under paragraph (a), which is unchanged, the bank the cheque is drawn on tells the presenting bank, electronically, the date of presentation and the actual reason for non-payment, that is, whether it was due to:

lack of available funds;
a closed account;
a stop-payment instruction.

Under the new paragraph (b), the presenting bank, on receiving that information, stamps or notes the reason and the date on the original cheque, under signature. Where the cheque was presented as a digital image of both its sides, it may instead deposit them by electronic means.

Under the new paragraph (c), both the stamp and the electronic deposit are accepted as evidence before a court. Both are a rebuttable presumption of the truth of their content, and a bank that complies is not in breach of the secrecy or confidentiality of its customers’ accounts.

A new subsection (9) defines the digital image as the faithful and clear digital representation of the original cheque.

A cheque cleared as an image no longer depends on a stamp on paper: the bank’s electronic record carries the same weight in court.

What it said before

Until 30 October the evidence had to be on the paper cheque. For a cheque presented electronically, the old paragraph (b) required the presenting bank to stamp or note the reason and the date on the original, under signature.

The old paragraph (c) gave that stamp, and the reason noted on the cheque, the status of evidence and of a rebuttable presumption. An electronic record had no place in the text.

How the courts have used the stamp

The stamp makes the offence easier to prove. In Vrontis Builders Ltd v. Kleopa & Sons Ltd (2016), the Supreme Court said that the legislature had provided a specific procedure which, when followed, makes the prosecution’s task of proving the offence easier.

It noted that subsection (4) deals with electronic presentation. The reasons on the stamps were not disputed and no evidence was offered against them, so the presumption of subsection (4)(c) remained intact, and with it the truth of the stamps. The appeals against conviction were dismissed.

A Nicosia District Court judgment of 14 September 2020 shows the same procedure at first instance. The defence argued that the cheques bore no stamp of the bank they were drawn on. They had been deposited electronically, and the presenting bank had stamped the originals with the reason and the date it was given. With no evidence against the stamps, the presumption stood and the company was convicted.

What did not change

The offence and the penalties are the same. A cheque that is presented and not paid for lack of funds or a closed account, and stays unpaid for fifteen days after presentation, is still an offence under section 305A(1).

The penalty remains imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to €10,000, or both.

Two other duties are untouched:

Under section 305A(3), the bank the cheque is drawn on still stamps or notes the reason and the date on a returned cheque.
Under section 305A(5), a bank officer who breaches the duties in subsections (3) and (4), other than by a bona fide mistake, still commits an offence. Subsection (4) now includes the electronic record.

Stopping your own cheque without reasonable cause is a separate offence, which our article on stopping a cheque explains.

What this means in practice

For the holder, the bank’s record is the evidence that matters. When a cheque you deposited comes back unpaid, find out how the reason and the date were recorded:

a stamp or note on the original cheque;
or, if the cheque was presented as a digital image, the presenting bank’s electronic record.

Then act on that record:

Ask your bank for that record, and keep the original cheque in any event.
Check the date of presentation it gives: the fifteen days of section 305A(1) run from it.
Check that the reason recorded matches the facts you will rely on, whether in a criminal complaint or in a civil claim for the debt.

For the drawer, the record can still be challenged. It is a rebuttable presumption, so evidence can contradict it. Without such evidence, the courts have treated the presumption as standing.

Our debt recovery lawyers can look at a returned cheque and its record, and tell you which route fits it.

Whether stamped on paper or recorded electronically, the bank’s note of the reason and the date is what turns an unpaid cheque into a case.

Questions we are asked

Do I still need the bank’s stamp on the cheque?

Not where the cheque was presented as a digital image of both its sides. Since Law 143(I)/2026 the presenting bank may record the reason for non-payment and the date of presentation electronically, and that record is accepted as evidence and is a rebuttable presumption of its truth, exactly as the stamp is. Otherwise the reason and the date are still stamped or noted on the original.

Can the drawer challenge the bank’s record?

Yes. Like the stamp, the electronic record is a rebuttable presumption, so evidence can show that it is wrong. Where nothing is offered against it, the presumption stands: that is what the Supreme Court held of the stamp in Vrontis Builders Ltd (2016).

Does the bank breach banking secrecy by recording this?

No. The law states expressly that a bank complying with these duties does not breach, and cannot be taken to breach, the secrecy or confidentiality of its customers’ accounts.

What should my first message say?

The amount and date of the cheque, when you deposited it and how, the reason the bank gave for non-payment, and whether the drawer has paid anything since.

Sources

Klitos Platis

Advocate, Partner

Kleanthous & Platis LLC, Cyprus
Published 3 November 2026

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