Check Payment Transactions

In the simplest definition, cheque is a payment tool. It falls into the class of bills of exchange, that is, money or documents which replace money. It is featured as valuable paper. Cheque books are printed by banks. All regulations regarding the use of cheques are made within the scope of the Turkish Commercial Code and the Cheque Law No. 5941. There are types of cheques, notably bank cheques, traveler's cheques, certified cheques, postal cheques, and crossed cheques.

Cheques printed by banks are issued in four types, which are merchant, merchant bearer, non-merchant and non-merchant bearer.

The person who issues, draws/issues the check is called the drawer, The payee or the endorsee of the cheque is the beneficiary, and the person or institution that will make the payment is called the drawee.

In general, the documents requested to obtain a cheque book are the Republic of Türkiye Identity Card, certificate of residence and a criminal record document. The documents required when a cheque book is requested have been specified in Article 2 of the Cheque Law. Banks may request other documents in addition to the required documents.

Natural persons, natural person merchants, legal persons can get cheque books. Also, apartment building managements, which do not have legal personality, can also get cheque books.

After the cheque book is issued, it is required to pay a certain amount of tax to the Government as the cost of valuable paper for each blank page. This amount is updated every year. The amount specified for 2025 is 55 TL per page. In 2024, if banks determine that the account of the person who issued the cheque is not suitable and the cheque is bounced, a payment of 9,270 TL per cheque leaf must be made. The cheque commitment fee to be paid per cheque leaf is announced every year in January.

Therefore, certain banks might request that 9,270 TL collateral or blockage account be maintained for each cheque leaf. If no cash provision is established for the cheque book, a non-cash loan limit is allocated. Banks might obtain other collaterals instead of cash collateral.

Cheque account refers to the account whose information is provided on the cheque book. A cheque book is a document printed by the bank that contains information such as the account holder's tax number, account number, the bank to which the account is linked, and the date when the cheque was issued. This information is available on each page of the cheque book, separately. The information that should be included on a cheque leaf is regulated in the Turkish Commercial Code, the Cheque Law and the Communiqué on the Printing Form of Cheque books, the Amount Banks are Obliged to the Bearer and the Notification and Announcement of the Decisions on Prohibition of Issuing Cheques and Opening Cheque Accounts.

There is a Cheque Listing and Payment page on MobilDeniz. One can perform four different types of cheque transactions on that page. Cheques of which you are the drawer can be viewed, paid; cheques of which you are the payee can be listed, cheques can be searched or downloaded based on the required details.

Depending on the transaction you wish to perform, you can click on the section that contains such transaction. For this, one needs to click the “Accounts” page and then “Cheques - Promissory Notes”. On the “Cheques - Promissory Notes” page, “My Cheques” section can be clicked and the transactions can be performed easily. Among these cheques, payment can only be made for clearing cheques of which one is the drawer. Furthermore, it is easy to access any cheque information by downloading in Excel format.

Cheques are used as payment tools. Although it is essential that the cheque is paid upon presentation according to the provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code; with the amendment made in the Cheque Law, it is not possible to present and process the cheque before the date of drawing.

When a cheque bounces, it means that the cheque, whose formal conditions are completed and submitted within the legal presenting period, does not have the amount specified on it in the bank account to which the cheque is linked on the date of presenting. If there is no funds in the bank account, the cheque is treated as bounced and the bank is obliged to pay the cheque commitment amount to the cheque bearer upon the request of the bearer. If a cheque bounces, the case can be escalated to judicial authorities and criminal complaint can be issued. In addition, execution follow up can be initiated through attorneys, against the company that gives the cheque.

Cheques come with types. Bank cheques are the mostly used types of cheques today. Bank cheques are printed by banks and they are valuable papers regulated by the Turkish Commercial Code and Cheque Law. Cheques printed by banks are issued in four types, which are merchant, merchant bearer, non-merchant and non-merchant bearer.

Cheques can also be issued as blocked cheques and guaranteed cheques at banks. Traveller’s cheque is a type of cheque that offers cashable transactions anywhere in the world as a result of certain international values, where the numerical values on the cheque are determined as round. It is preferred especially in long journeys and provide convenience to users.

Postal cheque is a type of cheque drawn to the name of the recipient and are featured as cash transfer notification. Due to that feature, they are not accepted as valuable papers, but as order documents.

Crossed cheque, which is another type of cheque, is divided into two. The type of cheque in which two parallel lines are on the front side of the cheque is called a general crossed cheque. The type of cheque in which the bank’s name is between two parallel lines is called a specific crossed cheque.

No, it is not mandatory to be merchant to get a cheque book. Non-merchants can also get a cheque book.

Cheque bearers may perform factoring transactions by endorsing and assigning the cheque to the factoring company before the cheque’s presenting time comes. To perform factoring transaction for the cheque, invoice must also be presented along with the cheque. Factoring transactions are performed by banks and factoring companies. In this case, the amount of the cheque is paid to the bearer by making a deduction from the cheque amount at a particular ratio (e.g., 90 TL may be paid to the bearer for a cheque of 100 TL) before the cheque issue date comes. Performing the transaction that way is colloquially referred to as cashing a cheque.

The visuals have been prepared for information purposes only; and are not binding.

The formal requirements of cheques are regulated in Article 780 of the Turkish Commercial Code as follows. Cheque contains:

a) The word ‘cheque’ in the text of the promissory note and, if the promissory note is written in a language other than Turkish, the word used as equivalent of ‘cheque’ in that language,

b) A transfer for the unconditional payment of a certain amount,

c) The trade name of the payer, ‘the drawee’,

d) The place of payment,

e) The date and place of drawing,

f) The signature of the issuer,

g) The serial number given by the bank,

h) QR code,

A cheque cannot be signed with fingerprint, stamp or any tool. A cheque must be signed with wet signature.