Goodbyes are never easy - Absa Stops cheques

Goodbyes are never easy. As of 31 December 2020 we will no longer issue, encash, deposit or collect cheques. Due to the high incidence of fraud and theft related to cheques, coupled with South Africans opting for the convenience and safety of digital payments over the past years, Absa, along with other major banks is discontinuing cheques as a payment method.

How will this impact me?

There will be no changes to your cheque account, account number or terms and conditions of your account – this will only impact physical cheques and cheque book issuing, and transactions.
You can cash and deposit cheques until 31 December 2020. No cheques will be accepted at any of our branches or cash centres after this date regardless of the date it was issued.
Only cheques banked and dated before 1 January 2021 will be honoured and processed.
Start making use of our alternative payment solutions and do not accept cheques as payments from 01 January 2021, for example, online banking, card payments and electronic funds transfer (EFT).
We no longer issue bank guaranteed cheques
Special clearances of cheques will no longer be allowed, the standard 10 day period will apply.
The 6 month cheque validity rule will fall away.
No cheques in excess of R50 000 will be accepted as per regulatory requirements

What you need to know about cheque discontinuation

Cash withdrawals
After the discontinuation of issuing of cheques you can withdraw or send cash using the following ways:

Branch: withdraw cash from any Absa branch by completing a withdrawal slip or using your Absa debit card.

ATM: You can increase your daily cash withdrawal limit at any ATM, via Internet Banking or the Banking App. Charges may differ when using other banks’ ATMs to withdraw cash.

ATM: Send up to R3 000 to a beneficiary – no card or bank account needed to collect money at any of Absa’s ATMs (Ideal for farmworkers or temporary staff).

Prepaid cards: Transfer funds using debit or prepaid cards
Unused or unclaimed chequebooks
No chequebooks will be issued to clients from 1 July 2020. Issued cheques will be accepted up to 31 December 2020. From 1 January 2021, no cheques will be accepted at any Absa branch or Cash Centre regardless of the date on the cheque. (This includes cheques from other banks).

Uncollected chequebooks in branch libraries will be destroyed by 31 October 2020 for safety reasons. If you have any unused cheques after 31 December 2020 please destroy them for safety reasons.

There are fraud controls in place to ensure that any uncollected chequebooks are destroyed for security reasons, in line with the fraud risk framework. All related policy documents will be updated and communicated accordingly.
Home loan withdrawals
Absa Home Loan account holders who have a FlexiReserve facility but no transactional account with Absa will no longer be issued a cheque when they withdraw prepaid amounts from their account.

bsa Home Loan customer who don’t have an Absa transactional account can have available prepaid amounts paid into their Home Loan Account through electronic funds transfer (EFT).

Proof of banking details for the transactional account to be credited and your identity document will be required to effect such payments. No direct payments from a FlexiReserve facility to any third party is permitted.

Visit your nearest branch or call the Absa Home Loan Call Centre on 0860 111 007 to process your FlexiReserve withdrawal request. Payment into your non-Absa transactional account may take up to three days to reflect from the date on which all supporting documents are received.

If you have a linked transactional account with Absa and are registered for online banking, you will be able to withdraw your prepaid amounts instantly from your Absa Home Loan account and transfer to your Absa transactional account.
Cheque issuing and bank cheques
No bank cheques will be issued from 1 October 2020.

Customers can issue cheques from existing chequebooks in their possession until 31 December 2020.

There is no limit to the number of cheques that a customer can issue until 31 December 2020, subject to existing rules and limits.
Cheque clearances
No cheques will be accepted for special clearance from 1 July 2020, and no premium will be accepted to clear a cheque faster than the standard 10-day cheque payment period.

All cheques must be processed within a clearance period of 10 days. if you need to make an immediate payment, please use any of our electronic payment options which are more cost-efficient than a cheque payments.

Cheques deposited by 31 December 2020 will still be cleared within the 10-day payment period.
Signatories
Signatories can still be verified at a branch as is currently the case with a cheque transaction and encashment.

Please register for electronic payment options like Cellphone and Internet Banking which cater for dual or multiple mandates or signatories on an account.
Cheque account status
There will be no changes to your cheque account at all – only physical cheque transactions and chequebooks will be discontinued.

Your account number will remain the same, our debit orders will continue as normal and the terms and conditions of your account will not change.
Honouring of cheques
All Payment Clearing House (PCH)-affiliated banks announced to discontinue using cheques as a payment method from 31 December 2020.

These banks have also suspended chequebook printing and withdrawn the service of special clearances.

The Payment Association of South Africa (PASA) also issued a media statement on the discontinuation of cheques by banks in South Africa.

The phasing out of cheques fully supported by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), National Treasury as well as the National Payments Systems Department (NPSD) of the South African Reserve Bank.
Alternative ways to make payments
Businesses, corporates and individuals can withdraw or send cash using the following options:

Absa branches

CashSend Plus

Absa Online Banking

Absa Banking App

Electronic funds transfer

ATMs

Debit orders

Cellphone Banking

ChatBanking.

Debit, credit and prepaid cards
Safety measures
Digital payment methods have safety features and a combination of controls to prevent fraud losses to you and Absa. These vary per electronic payment type. A few examples include PIN and password combinations to logon, with additional controls such as SureCheck and OTP verification via SMS. These safety measures are effective, provided you do not share your security details such as PINs and passwords.

We use the latest security technologies, including Two-factor Authentication (2FA) and high-level encryption to ensure that your money is always safe.
Business client payments
There are suitable electronic alternatives businesses can use to pay clients. Most businesses, including SARS, accept electronic payments Alternatively, payments can be made via cash deposits at a branch or ATM.
Account closures
From 1 October 2020, please visit your nearest branch or call the Home Loans Call Centre on 0860 111 007 to process your FlexiReserve withdrawal request. Payment into your non-Absa transactional account may take up to three days to reflect from the date on which all supporting documents are received.
Remote electronic banking
Good connectivity is required for electronic banking. Customers who are unable to connect remotely can still use branches and ATMs for withdraw or send cash.

With the exiting of cheques by all major banks and the announcement by Payment Association of South Africa (PASA) that the use of cheques will stop on 31 December 2020, clients will have to seek alternative payment methods available that work best for them.