Number of bounced cheques in Cyprus falls by 20.5% in eight months

From January to August 2026, Cyprus banks rejected 128 cheques due to insufficient funds in customers’ accounts — 20.5% fewer than in the same months of 2025, when there were 161 such cheques. The data was released by the Central Bank of Cyprus.

The total value of unpaid cheques over the eight-month period amounted to €315,581, compared with €365,490 a year earlier — a decrease of 13.7%.

The trend was interrupted in August, when banks returned 27 cheques, compared with 16 in August 2025, an increase of almost 69%. At the same time, the value of the August cheques was half that of the previous year — €27,092 compared with €52,891.

Over the eight-month period, 76 individuals and companies were added to the preliminary defaulters’ list, compared with 82 a year earlier. The number of legal entities increased — to 52 from 46 — while the number of individuals fell, to 24 from 36. In August, six entries were added to the list, the same number as a year ago.

Since the beginning of the year, 86 individuals and companies have been entered in the Central Information Register, where the Central Bank records information on unpaid cheques, compared with 80 over the same period in 2025.

Overall, in the first eight months of 2026, Cyprus recorded around 60% of the total number of bounced cheques reported last year and approximately half their value.