The Banking Executive Magazine, Issue 154, October 2021

The Central Bank of Bahrain The Central Bank of Bahrain INTRODUCES THE BAHRAIN ELECTRONIC CHEQUE SYSTEM The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) endeavors to maintain a leading po- sition promoting digitalisation and increasing innovative financial serv- ices. As part of the ongoing efforts towards digital transformation a real- ity in the National Payment Systems in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the CBB has taken the initiative to introduce electronic cheques (e-Cheques), complementing the traditional paper cheques, a popular payment instru- ment in Bahrain. e-Cheques, which will come into effect on 19 October 2021, have a special significance as they will retain all basic functions, legal validity and benefits of paper cheques while providing additional benefits including entirely paperless payment experience for customers who rely on e-Cheques to conduct their day-to-day transactions or busi- ness. The CBB directed the BENEFIT Com- pany (BENEFIT) to implement the Bahrain Electronic Cheque System (BECS) leveraging the latest technol- ogy, to provide e-Cheque services. Furthermore, recently introduced laws such as Electronic Transferable Records Law and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Law that came into force in 2018 gave the required legal basis for the project. BECS, operated by BENEFIT, is the first fully pledged e-Cheque system in the world that caters to individual, as well as corporate bank customers. BECS provides customers mobile Apps such as BenefitPay and e- Cheque App to request an e-cheque book from their banks, write an e- cheque, sign an e-cheque, issue an e-cheque and deposit an e-cheque online without visiting the bank. In- dividuals can register online for this e-cheque service through the Bene- fitPay App. Corporate customers can register at its bank to get the dedi- cated e-Cheque App to avail online e-Cheque services. The beauty of the e-cheque App is that it allows a cor- porate customer to easily let its mul- tiple authorised signatories sign e-cheques online while applying any limits on each authorised signatory. On this occasion, Mrs. Hesa Abdulla Al Sada, Executive Director of Bank- ing Operations at CBB, commented: “This milestone achievement reflects the ongoing commitment of the CBB in providing the latest technologies in the industry and encourages the progression towards a cashless soci- ety that has access to all electronic payment solutions available.” Mrs. Al Sada added: “The CBB ex- tends its sincere acknowledgements to the official entities that facilitated the legal and regulatory requirements for this project and provided the suit- able conditions to launch the service. These entities include the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Waqf, the Telecommunications Regulatory Au- thority (TRA), the Information and e- Government Authority (IGA), in addition to the BENEFIT Company which is the operator of the BECS system.” ISSUE 154 OCTOBER 2021 the BANKING EXECUTIVE 23 Mrs. Hesa Abdulla Al Sada, Executive Director of Banking Operations