New check regulations: Between opportunities and a lack of alternatives
The new check regulations, perceived by some economic actors as an inevitable step aimed at restoring the true role of checks as a payment instrument, have sparked significant concerns among businesses.
Companies lament the lack of alternatives to check-based financing, as highlighted during an information day titled 'The New Check Regulations: Impacts and Solutions,' organized on Tuesday in Tunis by the Confederation of Tunisian Citizen Enterprises (CONECT).
The new law (No. 41-2024, enacted on August 2, 2024), which primarily addresses the new check regulations, set an effective implementation date of February 2, 2025, for most provisions.
This delay was intended to give relevant institutions (Ministry of Justice, Central Bank of Tunisia, banks, businesses, etc.) time to prepare. However, several key practical measures—such as the new check format and the use of the newly created platform—have yet to be presented to businesses, leaving them unprepared.
Additionally, many companies remain unaware of several provisions of the law, including the opening of check accounts, limitations on checkbooks, the new digital platform, procedures for bounced checks, new penalties, reconciliation and commitment processes, reduced interest rates on fixed-rate loans, transitional measures for the old law, and procedures for closing bank accounts.
Moreover, with the criminalization of guarantee checks and post-dated checks, the law is likely to significantly impact business financing.
In a statement to TAP news agency, CONECT President Aslan Berjeb noted, 'It is still too early to comment on the challenges related to this regulation. We need to wait a few weeks to draw initial conclusions.
But now that the law has been enacted and the 'TuniChèque' platform is operational, it is pointless to challenge a text already in force.'
He added, 'I believe this is an opportunity for checks to regain their role as a sight payment instrument, while other payment methods replace them for guarantee purposes. Checks were never legally intended to serve as guarantees, although practice has made them so, both for businesses and citizens.
This is also an opportunity to gradually integrate a significant portion of the informal sector. However, both the public and private sectors must work together to develop viable alternatives, addressing technological, cybersecurity, and personal data protection challenges. All this must be supported by an efficient and effective judicial system that considers time, a critical factor in commercial transactions.'
Berjeb also emphasized that existing tools such as crowdfunding, credit bureaus, credit insurance, and credit cards could help mitigate the negative effects on business financing.
He added, 'Promissory notes should also reclaim their role as credit instruments. Our banking and financial sectors must demonstrate ingenuity and innovation to better support this transition. I believe disruptive and radical changes occur in specific times. We are in a unique economic situation, and this is when major changes must happen. Businesses need some time to adapt.'
The Lack of alternatives is the real issue!
Sofiene Weriemi, an accountant and university professor, believes that the economic impact is the real challenge that must be addressed. 'Checks have always been a financing mechanism for Tunisians, not just a payment instrument, with a rejection rate that has never exceeded 3% and a volume exceeding 123 billion dinars in 2023. Changing their purpose overnight will create significant financing problems for businesses, especially SMEs, and for consumption.'
He added, 'The Tunisian economy and the banking and financial sector have not yet developed alternatives to replace checks, particularly for business financing. There may be partial replacement through credit insurance or crowdfunding mechanisms, despite their limitations, but no viable alternatives exist to maintain economic stability and consumption levels. This transition should have been better prepared,' he concluded.
During the event, Nizar Bezzai, Central Commercial Director of COTUNACE, presented credit insurance as an existing mechanism that will gain prominence with the new check law. This mechanism aims to protect businesses against potential defaults, both in the local market and for exports.
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