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Bounced cheques in Tunisia: what Law 2024-41 changed (2026 guide)
30,000-dinar cap, TuniChèque platform, 5,000-dinar threshold, conciliation and penalties: Tunisia's new cheque rules explained.
Law No. 2024-41 of 2 August 2024 amended and supplemented the Commercial Code on cheques. It was published in Official Gazette (JORT) No. 94 of 2 August 2024. Most of its provisions took effect six months after publication, on 2 February 2025, when the unified digital cheque platform run by the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) went live.
The law has two goals: prevent bounced cheques through verification, and take part of the incidents out of criminal law. The cheque is again a means of payment, not a guarantee or a credit tool.
The new chequebook: cap, validity and named payee
Cap: each cheque leaf carries a maximum amount set by the bank based on the client's situation, and never above 30,000 dinars (Art. 410 bis).
Overall cap: the bank also sets a ceiling for each uncertified chequebook.
Validity: each leaf carries a validity date; a chequebook is valid for at least six months.
Named payee: a cheque may only be drawn to a named natural or legal person. It may only be endorsed to a bank, for collection.
Crossing: cheques are issued crossed. An uncrossed leaf requires an express request.
Prior check: the bank consults the BCT register before issuing any chequebook and assesses the client's ability to pay.
A document without the mandatory mentions (maximum amount, validity date, payee name), above its cap, or presented more than eight working days after its validity has expired is not a cheque. Old-format cheques lost their value as cheques after 2 February 2025.
The TuniChèque platform: check before you accept
Article 410 ter creates a unified digital platform set up by the BCT, which all banks must join. It is known as TuniChèque. Cheque leaves carry a QR code and security data.
Instant check by the payee that sufficient funds exist, without seeing the balance.
Check for stop-payment, loss, theft, garnishment or account closure.
Reservation of the funds for the payee, under the BCT circular.
Tracking of the cheque until collection, with incident notices sent through the platform.
Storage of transaction data for at least ten years.
Unpaid cheque: the procedure step by step
Presentation: the bank dates the presentation and pays any available funds.
Notice to the drawer: the same day, the bank asks the drawer to provide the funds within seven bank working days.
Certificate of non-payment: failing that, the bank issues it and sends it to the payee, the drawer and the BCT.
Complaint: prosecution can only start on the payee's complaint. The bank no longer refers files to the prosecutor.
Conciliation: before any prosecution, the public prosecutor offers conciliation within one month.
Performance: the settlement must be performed within nine months of signature, with one three-month extension.
Regularisation, meaning payment of the cheque amount, ends the prosecution or the sentence and allows the cheque ban to be lifted.
Criminal penalties
Cheque of 5,000 dinars or less: issuing it without funds is no longer a criminal offence (Art. 410 septies). The payee keeps a civil claim for payment.
Cheque above 5,000 dinars: two years' imprisonment and a fine equal to 20% of the cheque amount or the unpaid balance (Art. 411).
The same penalty applies to anyone who knowingly accepts a bounced cheque, anyone who takes a cheque as a guarantee, and anyone who stops payment outside the cases in Article 374.
Alternative sentence: the court may replace imprisonment with community service if the drawer is not a repeat offender and the circumstances justify it.
Fraudulent schemes: fictitious transactions using cheques of 5,000 dinars or less to obtain bank funds unlawfully carry two years' imprisonment and a 10,000-dinar fine.
Banks: a bank that refuses to pay a cheque while it has granted the drawer a credit facility faces a fine of 40% of the amount.
Small cheques, certified cheques and the bank's role
For cheques of 5,000 dinars or less, the law provides that a drawee bank not on the BCT's published list of banks connected to the platform is deemed the debtor: it must pay the payee if the drawer has not provided the funds within seven bank working days.
A certified cheque remains the safest option for a large payment, as the bank certifies the funds. The law also allows a bank to refuse any leaf other than a withdrawal cheque or a certified cheque, in particular for a client with a payment incident.
What businesses and individuals should do
Check every cheque on the platform before delivering goods or handing over property, and reserve the funds.
Check the mentions: your exact name as payee, the validity date and the leaf's maximum amount.
Present the cheque promptly, within its validity period.
Stop accepting guarantee or post-dated cheques: taking a cheque as a guarantee is an offence.
Review terms and contracts that provided for payment or security by cheque.
Keep evidence: contract, purchase order, invoice, written exchanges. They support both a complaint and a civil claim.
Alternatives to the cheque
Bill of exchange (traite): suited to trade credit between businesses, with a fixed due date.
Bank transfer and electronic payment: traceable, with no risk of non-payment once executed.
Contract with a payment schedule: set the price, instalments, late-payment penalties and a termination clause.
Contractual security: personal guarantee, deposit or credit insurance, instead of a guarantee cheque.
Written formal notice: the first step to claim an unpaid sum and prepare court action.
E-Tafakna offers contract templates with payment schedules and payment clauses, a free formal-notice generator, and electronic signature with TunTrust for Tunisia. These tools make it easier to prove a claim and move to traceable payments. For an ongoing dispute, consult a lawyer.
Frequently asked questions
Can a bounced cheque of 3,000 dinars still lead to prison?
No, if the certificate of non-payment was issued after the new regime took effect: issuing a bounced cheque of 5,000 dinars or less is no longer an offence. The payee can claim the money through civil proceedings.
What is the maximum amount of a cheque?
30,000 dinars per leaf at most, and often less: the bank sets the cap based on its client's situation. The cap is printed on the leaf.
Can a cheque still be used as a guarantee?
No. Taking a cheque as a guarantee carries the same penalty as issuing a bounced cheque above 5,000 dinars.
How does conciliation work?
The prosecutor offers conciliation before any prosecution. If a settlement is signed, the drawer has nine months, extendable once by three months, to pay. Full payment ends the proceedings.
Sources
Law No. 2024-41 of 2 August 2024 amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Commercial Code, JORT No. 94 of 2 August 2024 (arp.tn)
Tunisian Commercial Code, Articles 410 to 412 as amended by Law No. 2024-41
Central Bank of Tunisia circular of 31 January 2025 on the unified digital cheque platform, as reported by La Presse and Webdo
Lecture dans les dispositions régissant le chèque, analysis published by Managers, December 2024 (managers.tn)
Webmanagercenter / TAP, 21 November 2024 and 23 January 2025 (webmanagercenter.com)
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Bounced cheques in Tunisia: what Law 2024-41 changed (2026 guide)
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