The Bank of Ghana has asked banks in the country  to pay up to GH¢ 5,000 to third parties who present cheques to them.

This new limit is half the previous GH¢ 10,000 limit issued by the Central Bank in July, 2013.

The directive took effect from January 1, 2014, and does not apply to third party cheques that are presented for the credit of an account through clearing.

The further tightening of the third party over-the-counter threshold, according to BoG, is to reduce the incidence of fraud and other malfeasance and also "limit the scope for abuse of the banking system by criminals."

 The directive, however, does not also apply where the payee is the drawer of the cheque.

The Bank of Ghana is also encouraging customers of banks to use payment instruments and products such as cards and mobile money for transaction.