Palestine Monetary Authority

PALESTINE MONETARY AUTHORITY

Circular No. (172/2019)

To all banks operating in Palestine Date: Monday, July 8, 2019

Subject: Developmental Provisions Amended on the Returned Cheques System Version

In line with the Palestine Monetary Authority's aspirations to transform into a central bank and its continuous efforts to develop its regulatory systems and policies in harmony with developments in the Palestinian banking environment and in accordance with best international practices, and continuing the development processes for the returned cheques system, and based on Instructions No. 2/2017 dated 02/02/2017 governing the operation of the returned cheques system and amicable settlements, please find attached the key amendments made to the returned cheques system:

And the Amicable Settlements System:

First: Amendment to the Returned Cheques Report

The client-specific returned cheques report has been developed to display historical cheques that were returned to the client's account and for which the legal disclosure period has expired. These have been archived in the database so that they can be viewed via the "Client Cheques Archive" button located on the left side of the client-specific returned cheques report.

Second: Amendment to the Structure of the Returned Cheques File from Branches and Foreign and Israeli Clearing

The structure of the returned cheques file from branches of the same bank and Israeli and foreign clearing houses has been amended. Nationality codes according to ISO standards have been adopted for disclosing client nationalities, as well as for declaring the client's nationality in the returned cheques file according to ISO, specifically (PS0) instead of (970), in accordance with the classifications provided in Annex No. (1) attached.

Third: Amendment to Disclosure Mechanisms

The disclosure mechanisms for returned cheques on accounts of clients classified as grade (C or D) who have completed their legal penalty period and whose classification has changed to (E) have been amended. Returned cheques on the client's account will be archived when the first cheque is returned to the client's account. Please note that the client's classification will be subject to the number of returned cheques on the account.

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Fourth: Amendment to Amicable Settlement Mechanisms

The amicable settlements system has been developed to allow amicable settlements for clients who have completed their legal penalty period, had their classification changed to (E), and subsequently had new cheques returned to their accounts. Settlements for these newly returned cheques will be submitted through the system. Accordingly, the use of paper settlements as per Circular No. (118/2017) dated 7/6/2017 will be discontinued effective from the issuance of this circular.

This circular takes effect from the date of its issuance, and banks are required to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to disseminate the content to relevant employees to ensure compliance.

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Market Regulation Department Palestine Monetary Authority

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Annex No. (1)

International Country Codes (For the Purpose of Determining Client Nationality)

Country	ISO
United Arab Emirates	AE
Argentina	AR
Australia	AU
Austria	AT
Belgium	BE
Bulgaria	BG
Bahrain	BH
Bosnia and Herzegovina	BA
Brazil	BR
Brunei	BN
Canada	CA
Chile	CL
China	CN
Cameroon	CM
Colombia	CO
Costa Rica	CR
Cuba	CU
Cyprus	CY
Czech republic	CZ
Germany	DE
Djibouti	DJ
Denmark	DK
Algeria	DZ
Ecuador	EC
Egypt	EG
Spain	ES
Finland	FI
France	FR
United Kingdom	GB
Greece	GR
Guatemala	GT
Hong Kong	HK
Hungary	HU
Indonesia	ID
India	IN
Ireland	IE
Iraq	IQ
Israel	IL
Italy	IT
Jordan	JO
Japan	JP
Kenya	KE

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Country	ISO
South Korea	KR
Kuwait	KW
Lebanon	LB
Lybia	LY
Sri Lanka	LK
Luxembourg	LU
Morocco	MA
Mexico	MX
Malta	MT
Mauritania	MR
Malaysia	MY
Nigeria	NG
Holland	NL
Norway	NO
New Zealand	NZ
Sultanate of Oman	OM
Pakistan	PK
Peru	PE
Philippines	PH
Poland	PL
Portugal	PT
Paraguay	PY
Palestine	PS
Qatar	QA
Romania	RO
Russia	RU
Saudi Arabia	SA
Sudan	SD
Senegal	SN
Singapore	SG
Sweden	SE
Switzerland	SZ
Syria	SY
Thailand	TH
Tunisia	TN
Turkey	TR
Taiwan	TW
Uganda	UG
Ukraine	UA
Uruguay	UY
United States of America	US
Venezuela	VE
Yemen	YE
Zambia	ZM

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www.pma.ps

Ramallah & Al-Bireh Governorate - Palestine P.O. Box 452 info@pma.ps | Fax: +970 2 2415310 | Tel: +970 2 2415251 Gaza - Palestine P.O. Box 4026 Fax: +970 8 2844487 | Tel: +970 8 2825713