Central Bank of Tunisia Unveils Innovative Cheque Platform, TuniChèque
The Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) held a press conference today, February 3, 2025, to introduce the new regulation on cheques and the TuniChèque platform.
During the intervention, Nizar Chaddad, Director General of Payments and Financial Inclusion at the BCT, detailed the features and objectives of this innovative platform, designed to modernize and secure cheque transactions in Tunisia.
His speech, although sometimes technical, highlighted the significant advances of this initiative, while emphasizing the challenges to be overcome for its successful deployment.
Nizar Chaddad stressed the importance of TuniChèque as an effective mechanism for securing cheque acceptance. "It's a tool that primarily targets cheque beneficiaries, offering them better guarantees and greater transparency in transactions," he explained. The platform aims to reduce the risks associated with bounced cheques and strengthen trust between stakeholders. It is also designed to empower beneficiaries (generally merchants) by providing them with better control over transactions. "The cheque amount limit is adjusted based on income, allowing for more balanced and secure management," he specified. This approach reinforces the rights of beneficiaries while ensuring better traceability of operations.
The TuniChèque platform goes beyond simple cheque management, encompassing several disciplines, including security, banking procedures, and communication. "It's a project that involves significant technical and human resources, as well as close collaboration between banks, the Post Office, and the Central Bank of Tunisia," Nizar Chaddad declared. He also highlighted the importance of governance and awareness to ensure the success of this initiative. However, he did not downplay the technical and regulatory challenges associated with implementing TuniChèque. "We had to rethink cheque printing to make them universally accepted, while respecting international standards," he explained. He also mentioned the performance and security tests conducted to guarantee the platform's reliability. "High availability and service continuity are absolute priorities," he added.
One of the strengths of TuniChèque lies in its accessibility. Beneficiaries can access the platform via a mobile application or website, linking their bank account to their profile. "We've simplified the process so users can verify and validate cheques in 20 seconds," he affirmed. It's worth noting that the platform currently contains 23,000 accounts.
Nizar Chaddad also emphasized that this project was achieved 100% with Tunisian skills, with teams working day and night for 6 months to achieve this result.
