Iran prevents banks from bouncing checks amid coronavirus closures
The Iranian government has ordered banks to stop bouncing dishonored checks for the next 10 days amid ongoing restrictions on businesses because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Iranian president’s deputy for economic affairs said state-run and private banks would avoid issuing notices for bounced checks until May 10 to help businesses and individuals cope with the economic impacts of continued closures in the country.
Mohammad Nahavandian said the order had been issued based on a decision by Iran’s National Headquarters for Managing and Fighting Coronavirus.
The decision comes amid a rising rate of bounced checks in Iran as lockdowns and closures have made it harder to meet financial obligations.
Nahavandian said the move had been coordinated with the Iranian judiciary as courts in the country are the ultimate authority to decide on bounced checks.
“We aim to create a gap so that the situation gets back to normal,” said Nahavandian as he insisted that the increasing number of bouncing checks could affect the broader economy in Iran.
However, the Iranian government has yet to announce a clear timetable for easing COVID-19 restrictions on the economy as the number of infections and deaths from the virus have remained high in recent weeks.
Iran has been the hardest hit country by the virus in the Middle East and is already through a fourth wave of disease since it broke out in late February 2020.
The Iranian health ministry said on Saturday that a total of 332 deaths had been recorded in hospitals across the country over the past 24 hours as a result of infection with the virus.
It said the daily number of confirmed cases had declined to 17,080 on Saturday afternoon.
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