VICTORIA, Seychelles — As from April 1, 2025, all government entities will no longer be accepting personal cheques as a form of payment. Accountant General Karine Bonne made the statement yesterday during a press conference at Liberty House in Victoria, announcing that the last day for payment by cheques to all government entities will be March 31, 2025. This follows the approval of the Central Bank policy for the sunsetting of local currency cheques by the government on September 11, 2024, which means that commercial banks have since January 1, 2025 stopped issuing cheques to individuals.
Through the decision, the government is encouraging the public to adopt alternative payment methods such as Point of Sale (POS) machines, bank transfers, and online payment platforms. Chief accountant Nataniel Volcère explained that dishonoured cheques are one of the main reasons behind the decision. ‘Dishonoured cheques are when the clients do not have enough funds in their accounts or the cheques do not have enough signatures to go through,’ she explained. Ms Bonne noted that the other methods are more efficient and faster, and also offer the convenience of instant transactions.
She highlighted that for 2024, they collected a total of 12,755 cheques amounting to R523 million. For 2023, they collected 13,624 cheques, both personal and business, amounting to R543 million. For small businesses that rely heavily on cash, the government is encouraging them to use bank transfers or POS. Ms Bonne noted that this transition is being done in phases and next year they will not be accepting business cheques.
