•KCB recently announced plans to fall back to other vendors to print its cheques.
•Equity has also requested that its customers make enough orders to last for at least six months.
Image: REUTERS
Kenyans and businesses seeking new cheques will have to place their orders early as top banks grapple with finding a new printer.
There has been a cheque-book shortage in the country this month after leading banknotes and security printer De La Rue halted local operations locally.
The printer was in charge of printing the cheque books for the local lenders and their exit in march has left the banking industry players in a crisis.
Some of the local banks have already sent communication to their customers to exercise caution as they seek alternative printers.
The local banks have been experiencing a logistical crisis supplying customers with cheques.
KCB recently announced plans to fall back to other vendors to print its cheques.
Equity has also requested that its customers make enough orders to last for at least six months.
Absa Bank Kenya warned customers that it is currently facing shortages of cheque books amid disruptions by their cheque printing partner.
The listed company advised customers to purchase their cheques early to prevent any "inconveniences."
“When the acceptance time for the De La Rue printed checks expires, Citibank will stop providing corporate and banker's cheque issuance services as part of its product portfolio,” Citi Bank said in a previous statement.
A delay in printing of the cheques can have a significant impact on the country's economy and financial system as Cheques are commonly used for business payments, salary disbursements and some government transactions.
De La Rue had been working in Kenya for over 25 years from where it has been serving other markets such as Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Rwanda.
Before shutting Kenyan operations, the De larue Nairobi plant had the capacity to print 60 million cheques in a year.
Overall, while the use of cheques in Kenya has declined in recent years due to the rise of electronic payment options, they are still a widely accepted and important mode of payment, particularly for large transactions.
They have become less popular in Kenya over the past ten years as companies and individuals have shifted to more effective digital payment methods.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya, the number of cheques issued in payments decreased from 18.2 million to 15.69 million during the same time, despite the fact that the value of cheques increased from Sh2.05 trillion in 2011 to Sh2.55 trillion last year.
On average, settlements worth Sh2.5 trillion are settled annually using cheques.