Cheque Bounce Charges in Saudi Arabia: What You'll Pay

If you're staring at a returned cheque in Saudi Arabia, you're dealing with two separate bills: what the bank charges you, and what the law can do to you. Cheque bounce charges here aren't just a slap on the wrist. Issuing a cheque without sufficient funds is a criminal offence under Saudi law, and the penalties bite.

Quick answer

Bank fees for a bounced cheque in Saudi Arabia typically run SAR 100 to SAR 300 per return, depending on your bank's schedule approved by SAMA (Saudi Central Bank). But the real cost is legal: under the Commercial Papers Law (Royal Decree No. M/37), issuing a cheque without sufficient funds is a crime punishable by imprisonment and/or a fine up to SAR 100,000, plus the full cheque amount owed to the beneficiary. SIMAH credit flags and travel bans are common. Settle fast or lawyer up.

Bank-level cheque bounce charges

Every commercial bank in Saudi Arabia publishes a schedule of fees approved by SAMA. For a returned cheque due to insufficient funds, expect:

• SAR 100 to SAR 300 per returned cheque at most retail banks.
• A separate charge may apply to the beneficiary's bank for processing the return.
• Repeated bounces trigger account restrictions. SAMA rules require banks to close chequing privileges for customers who bounce cheques repeatedly, and the customer gets reported to SIMAH (the Saudi Credit Bureau).

Honestly, the fee itself is the smallest problem. What hurts is the credit flag and the loss of your chequebook facility. Once SAMA's system logs you as a serial bouncer, opening a new chequing account anywhere becomes very hard.

Criminal penalties under the Commercial Papers Law

This is where most people underestimate the exposure. Article 118 of the Commercial Papers Law (Nizam Al-Awraq Al-Tijariyyah, Royal Decree No. M/37 of 11/10/1383H) criminalises:

• Issuing a cheque without sufficient funds.
• Withdrawing the funds after issuing the cheque.
• Ordering the bank to stop payment without a legitimate reason.
• Signing a cheque in a way that makes it unpayable.

Penalty: imprisonment and/or a fine. The fine ceiling was raised significantly, and courts regularly impose both. The beneficiary can file a criminal complaint at the police station or directly through the Public Prosecution. Travel bans are routine once a case is registered.

The 2017 amendments also allow summary enforcement. A bounced cheque is now treated as an executive document (sanad tanfeedhi) under the Enforcement Law (Royal Decree No. M/53 of 1433H), meaning the beneficiary can go straight to the Enforcement Court without filing a full civil lawsuit. That's fast. Freezing orders on bank accounts, salary garnishment, and travel bans can land within weeks.

Pay the cheque. Then worry about everything else.

What the beneficiary actually does

If you're the one holding the bounced cheque, you have options stacked in your favour:

1. Get the official return memo from the bank stating the reason (insufficient funds, closed account, signature mismatch, etc.).
2. File at the Enforcement Court under the Enforcement Law — the cheque itself is enough; no separate judgment needed.
3. Or file a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecution for the Article 118 offence.
4. Request a travel ban on the drawer as part of enforcement.

Most beneficiaries run both tracks in parallel. The criminal pressure usually gets the drawer to settle, and the enforcement track locks down assets while that plays out.

How to kill the case fast if you're the drawer

If the cheque bounced and you want this to go away:

• Pay the full amount plus bank charges to the beneficiary and get a written release (ibra'a) in Arabic, signed and ideally notarised.
• Deposit the amount at the Enforcement Court if the beneficiary refuses to accept direct payment or can't be reached.
• Reconciliation (sulh) extinguishes the criminal case in most cheque matters — the Public Prosecution will drop charges once the beneficiary submits a waiver.

Don't ignore the summons. A default ruling plus a travel ban is a bad place to start negotiating from. For related criminal exposure questions, see our criminal law answers.

Watch out: Partial payment without a written waiver doesn't stop the case. The beneficiary can accept the money and still pursue criminal charges unless you have a signed release covering the full amount.