Creditinfo Malta provides a service for businesses who have received dishonoured cheques and bills of exchange.

Shops and businesses ideally try to accept all methods of payments for their products and services. Unfortunately, in this day and age, the risk factor for accepting un-guaranteed forms of payment is climbing. Due to the risks, some businesses refuse cheques as payment, whereas before it was a very common and normal practice in Malta.

In Malta the chequebook is still very commonly used to pay for goods and services. Unfortunately it may also be used by fraudsters and poses an element of risk. Despite this, shop owners can still accept cheques from business or consumer clients and reduce the risk by using Creditinfo's service.

Our service offers a method for increasing safe business while lowering the risk. It allows the business client to vet his customer through our live online service prior to accepting payment by cheque or granting credit. This may help the seller come to a quick decision on how credit worthy his customer is.   

As part of the service we invite you to send us any dishonoured cheques or bills of exchange in your possession and they will be registered on our system. We will notify your debtor with our standard registration letter that this information will be registered on our database if it is not settled within 2 weeks. Once registered, the debtor will find it difficult to get any credit or use of bank facilities elsewhere. The issue will remain until we are informed that the claim has been paid. Then it will be cleared from our database permanently.

Some safeguards we advise you to observe before accepting payment by cheque or bills of exchange:

• Customer would normally sign the cheque or bill in your presence - signature should match the one on their identity card.
• Check the ID Number on our online system - if the record is clear, write the ID number on the back of the cheque.
• If Cheque Bounces - Report details by sending us a copy or scan of both front and back of the cheque by fax or email.

 Retail clients are advised to affix this cheque notice in a prominent position by the Cashier at their Shop. This notice informs the visiting members of the public and your clientele that Creditinfo Malta will be informed if any bad cheques are used there. It will keep the public aware and deter potential bad customers from bouncing cheques at your establishment.