Translated by Tamara Barakat

The year 2015 witnessed an increase in NSF checks from banks. According to the Monetary Authority, the number of NSF checks reached 421,333, amounting to $513.5 million, while there were 351,369 NSF checks, amounting to $596 million last year.

A non-sufficient funds check (NSF) is a check that cannot be cashed because the writer does not have any or has insufficient funds. In this case, the holder of the check can complain against the writer of the check at the Public Prosecution.

Although 2015 witnessed an increase in NSF checks, it also witnessed a slight decrease in complaints about the issue at the Public Prosecution. According to the Public Prosecution’s statistics, there were 6314 complaints in 2015 and 6789 complaints in 2014.

This number does not include the citizens who approach the Execution Department at the courts directly because they are quickly able to collect the check from its writer, while a prosecution before the Public Prosecution does not lead to the collection of the check as much as it tracks its writer due to issuing a check without having sufficient funds.

The Monetary Authority is taking measures to face this phenomenon, such as its policy of classifying its customers on its system according to their number of NSF checks. It also applies a policy of increasing the fees on NSF checks as a penalty on the writer of these checks.

(Palestine Economy Portal, Maan)