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Central Bank of Malta issues Directive 17

The Central Bank of Malta has issued Directive 17 to set the maximum outages allowed to Banks as part of their contingency arrangements, when providing essential services to their clients.  These services include the deposit and withdrawal of cash, the deposit, encashment and clearing of paper-based instruments, such as cheques, bank drafts and similar instruments, and the provision of services through alternative delivery channels.

The changes, which are made in consultation with the Banks, are a temporary measure during the current wave of coronavirus induced disruptions. This legislation, which will come into force on 1 January 2022, allows the Banks to lengthen the time taken to provide services to their clients when they are under contingency situations.  The new legislation also takes into account the concerns of Banks with regards to the wellbeing of their own staff, while at the same time, as service providers, they continue to place emphasis on the use of ATMs to reduce the number of people who need to rely on over-the-counter services. Since these institutions may also be working with limited resources, the amount of time taken to clear cheques and drafts has been extended temporarily from three days to a maximum of six days, while cash deposits may also take up to three days to clear.

In the meantime, Banks must still provide over-the-counter cash deposit services for all those customers who do not have access to alternatives such as ATMs.  Customers in this category are however encouraged to enroll into one of the many existing possibilities offered by the financial services community, the use of which are more aligned with current recommendations by the National Health Authorities.