Iran's central bank has introduced separate issuance rules for paper and electronic cheque books, removing a regulatory link between the two as part of efforts to encourage wider use of electronic cheques.

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) said that the new framework has defined distinctive requirement for paper and electronic cheques, meaning activity in one format will no longer affect eligibility to receive the other. This is while, under previous rules, customers were generally required to account for or return at least 80% of the cheques issued from their previous cheque book before they could obtain a new one.

The CBI said the change is intended to remove operational dependence between the two payment instruments and accelerate the adoption of electronic cheques across the banking system.

The regulator has also instructed banks to offer solutions to receive and process electronic cheques remotely. 

As per the latest reports, Iranian bank customers issued more than 1.83mn electronic cheques during the three months to June 21, marking a 277% increase from the same period of the previous year,

Iran has been gradually expanding the use of electronic cheques through the SAYAD system as part of wider efforts to digitise payment services, improve traceability and reduce fraud associated with paper cheques. The latest changes are intended to remove administrative barriers that could discourage customers from adopting the electronic format.