CEM REPORT, FINANCE | The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a stern warning to banks with MICR reject. The apex bank said it will penalise any bank with MICR reject per the Sanctions Grid, starting from 1 November, 2023.
The regulator disclosed this in a circular seen by CEM. The document dated 9, October 2023 and signed by its Director, Banking Service Department noted that the directive became necessary as it noticed that MICR rejects have been on the increase.
Furthermore, CBN called on Deposit Money Bank (DMBs) to contact their personalizers and reiterate the need to revalidate the MICR codeline details for correctness in accordance with the NCS and NICPAS version 2.0.
The circular reads:
“Please recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria issued the Nigerian Cheque Standards (NCS) and Nigeria Cheque Printers Accreditation Scheme (NICPAS), version 2.0 on 18 September 2018 to increase the efficiency and security of the Nigeria Clearing System.
“It has come to our notice that MICR rejects have been on the increase and in furtherance of the Bank’s effort to reduce the number, Deposit Money Bank (DMBs) are hereby directed to contact their personalizers and reiterate the need to revalidate the MICR codeline details for correctness in accordance with the NCS and NICPAS version 2.0.
“Furthermore, both the presenting and receiving banks should also thoroughly examine their in-house cheque processing equipment to ensure that they are properly calibrated and supervised to eliminate distortion of image and data being transmitted during the cheque truncation process.
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“Please note that the bank will monitor compliance with the provision of this circular and any bank with MICR reject starting from 1 November 2023 would be penalized in accordance with the Sanctions Grid.”
