Bank of Valletta has announced that newly issued cheques will be marked as ‘only’, meaning that they can only be deposited to an account in the name of the person to whom the cheque is addressed (the payee) or paid in cash to the named payee. Cheques will no longer be transferable to third parties. As a result, the bank will no longer issue ‘or order’ cheques. 

This is in line with international practice to protect the bank’s customers against the risk of misappropriation of their funds, even if a chequebook is lost or stolen, and concurrently combatting money laundering.

Customers can continue to use their current stock of ‘or order’ BOV cheques until they order and receive a new chequebook.

For increased convenience and ease of use, Bank of Valletta encourages customers to use alternative payment channels such as BOV Mobile, BOV internet banking, BOV cards and the bank’s extensive ATM network.

Deposits of ‘only’ cheques can also be effected to joint accounts at any BOV branch provided they are presented for deposit by the payee in person.

For further information customers may visit any BOV branch, www.bov.com or call the bank’s customer service centre on 2131 2020.