NBR prepares for electronic processing of cheques

It will be possible for cheques and other paper-based debt payment instruments (promissory notes and bills of exchange) to be electronically processed, with the NBR (National Bank of Romania) and the Government currently preparing the necessary legislation. The European Central Bank (ECB) has recently approved, at the request of the NBR, two draft emergency ordinances, which modify Law No. 58 from 1934 on cheques, bills of exchange and promissory notes. Cheques are currently a means of payment, primarily used by companies. In the case of individual clients, banks have encouraged the shift from using cash to debit cards, and have avoided encouraging the use of cheques on a large scale because of clearing problems and potential fraud. Local bankers had wanted to sort out the electronic processing of payment instruments for several years and the topic had been repeatedly addressed during the meetings of the Romanian Banking Association. Unlike credit payment instruments, which can already be electronically processed, the manual processing of paper-based debt payment instruments, such as cheques, bills of exchange and promissory notes, is the only method available at present.