Banks must have a viable alternative to cheques before a full decriminalisation can become reality, says the head of the banking industry trade body.
Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, the chairman of the Emirates Banks Association, said any moves to ease criminal penalties for expatriates whose cheques bounce should be phased in to allow a period of adjustment for consumer lenders.
"There has been thinking in the UAE of decriminalisation of postdated bounced cheques across the board, but you cannot do that without finding an alternative instrument," he said.
"If there is a proper system and an alternative system maybe the economy will go towards that, but it has to be introduced over a period of time," said Mr Al Ghurair, who is also the chief executive of Mashreq and the chairman of the DIFC Authority.
A consensus has emerged among the UAE's financial services community and leading politicians that the UAE's laws governing bounced cheques are in need of reform.
A presidential decree issued last month immunised UAE nationals from prosecution by banks and finance companies when a security cheque bounces.
Since then, more than 400 previous defaulters have been released from prison, the Wam news agency reported. Writing a bounced cheque remains a criminal offence for the majority of the UAE's residents.
Mr Al Ghurair declined to comment on what adjustments Mashreq had made to its lending practices in the wake of the presidential decree.
The Government plans to study whether bouncing a cheque should remain a criminal offence for expatriates alongside the development of a federal consumer protection strategy for 2014-2016.
A total of 1.5 million cheques failed at the point of use last year, representing payments worth Dh55.3bn (US$15bn).
Emirates NBD, the biggest bank in the country, recently gave its backing to a full decriminalisation, while the head of the Federal National Council's finance committee has called on the Central Bank to study the high failure rate of cheques.
Last month, the Central Bank met commercial lenders to discuss the implementation of a federal direct debit scheme next year, which bankers expect will reduce the number of cheques used.
The Government also intends to study whether a system of loan guarantees for unsecured lending to expatriates could give banks an equivalent method of security that they currently gain from post-dated cheques, Ali Al Dhaheri, the manager of legal affairs at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, said last week.
ghunter@thenational.ae
Abu Dhabi race card
5pm Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige | Dh110,000 | 1,400m
5.30pm Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige | Dh110,000 | 1,400m
6pm Abu Dhabi Championship Listed | Dh180,000 | 1,600m
6.30pm Maiden | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
7pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap | Dh80,000 | 1,400m
7.30pm Handicap (TB) |Dh100,000 | 2,400m
England squad
Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Keaton Jennings, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Amar Virdi, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
TOURNAMENT INFO
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier
The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier
Thursday results
UAE beat Kuwait by 86 runs
Qatar beat Bahrain by five wickets
Saudi Arabia beat Maldives by 35 runs
Friday fixtures
10am, third-place playoff – Saudi Arabia v Kuwait
3pm, final – UAE v Qatar
Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
TOUR DE FRANCE INFO
Dates: July 1-23
Distance: 3,540km
Stages: 21
Number of teams: 22
Number of riders: 198
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
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Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
Results
6.30pm Madjani Stakes Rated Conditions (PA) I Dh160,000 I 1,900m I Winner: Mawahib, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
7.05pm Maiden Dh150,000 I 1,400m I Winner One Season, Antonio Fresu, Satish Seemar
7.40pm: Maiden Dh150,000 I 2,000m I Winner Street Of Dreams, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
8.15pm Dubai Creek Listed I Dh250,000 I 1,600m I Winner Heavy Metal, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.50pm The Entisar Listed I Dh250,000 I 2,000m I Winner Etijaah, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson
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10pm Handicap I Dh160,000 I 1,600m I Winner Sea Skimmer, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
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Part time contracts
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HAJJAN
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Results
Final: Iran beat Spain 6-3.
Play-off 3rd: UAE beat Russia 2-1 (in extra time).
Play-off 5th: Japan beat Egypt 7-2.
Play-off 7th: Italy beat Mexico 3-2.
