6-month figure already 95 per cent of 2008 annual total
THE total value of cheques bounced so far this year has already reached €5.34 million, double the €2.67 million recorded for the first six months last year, the Central Information Registry (CIR) said yesterday.
CIR Executive Committee chairman Yiangos Demetriou said that the preliminary six-month figure for this year is close to equalling the €5.63 million total value for the whole of 2008. He added that 2,336 dishonoured cheques have been registered with the CIR so far this year, compared to 1,412 during same period last year (a 165 per cent increase), and 948 individuals and legal entities have been blacklisted so far, compared to 508 for the same period last year (a 187 per cent increase).
Of the current total for blacklisted persons, 458 are individuals and 490 are legal entities such as companies. For the whole of 2008, a total of 3,014 cheques were dishonoured and 1,515 persons were blacklisted. The latest figures appear to confirm scale of the slowdown in the economy and its impact on credit.
Speaking at a press conference to announce the launch of a new internet, phone and text messaging service that will allow interested parties to check if a person has been blacklisted, Demetriou said that the writing of dud cheques “continues to represent a scourge for the smooth operation of the market”, and he hoped that the new service will stop the upward trend.
The new service is being offered by First Cyprus Credit Bureau (FCCB), a joint venture between the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce (KEVE) and Infocredit Group, which won the contract after a public tendering process. FCCB signed the service agreement with the Central Bank on 10 March this year, and the service will go live on Monday, 6 July.
Infocredit Group Managing Director Theodoros Gringo explained that the new service offers restricted access to information held by the CIR, in that enquirers will only be told if a person is on the blacklist or not. Those wanting to make an enquiry must first submit a registration form to FCCB, either online at its website or by printing it off and submitting a written copy by post or fax.
Registration should be approved within two days, after which they will have the option of making their enquiry online, by phone (number to be provided) or via text message to up to five nominated mobile numbers. Required information is the name of the person plus ID or passport number, or company registration number.
In line with data protection legislation, before information can be sought for a natural person, that person’s prior consent to using their personal data must be obtained. In order to avoid possible misrepresentation or fraud, original documents will have to be presented to verify the personal data.
The fee payable for each request will be €0.80 by phone, reducing to €0.43 per request for 500 requests or more, and €0.55 by text message, reducing to €0.30 per request for 500 requests or more.
• For more information, phone 22398000 or see www.fccb.com.cy.
