Cheques Act, 1959

This provision says the Act may be cited as the Cheques Act.

Jurisdiction: Zambia
Instrument: Act or statute
Citation: Act 5 of 1959
Version: 31 Dec 1996
Language: en
Official source: View official record ↗

banking cheque collection cheque handling cheque payments cross-references customer status deeming provision endorsement negotiable instruments non-application of statutes payment collection payments

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This provision says the Act may be cited as the Cheques Act. A banker who, in good faith and in the ordinary course of business, pays certain unendorsed or irregularly endorsed cheques or related instruments is not liable just because the endorsement is missing or irregular. A banker who meets the stated conditions has the same rights the holder would have had if the cheque had been endorsed in blank. An unendorsed cheque, or certain other instruments, can be used as evidence that the payee received the amount paid by the instrument if it appears the banker paid it. A banker who acts in good faith and without negligence is not liable to the true owner when collecting payment of a covered cheque or similar instrument, even if the customer has no or a defective title.

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Provisions of Cheques Act, 1959

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1
Short title ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
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This provision says the Act may be cited as the Cheques Act.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Cheques Act. [As amended by G.N. No. 441 of 1963]
2
Protection of bankers paying unendorsed or irregularly endorsed cheques, etc. .................................................................... 1
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A banker who, in good faith and in the ordinary course of business, pays certain unendorsed or irregularly endorsed cheques or related instruments is not liable just because the endorsement is missing or irregular.

2. Protection of bankers paying unendorsed or irregularly endorsed cheques, etc. (1) Where a banker in good faith and in the ordinary course of business pays a cheque drawn on him which is not endorsed or is irregularly endorsed, he does not, in doing so, incur any liability by reason only of the absence of, or irregularity in, endorsement and he is deemed to have paid it in due course. (2) Where a banker in good faith and in the ordinary course of business pays any such instrument as the following, namely: (a) a document issued by a customer of his which, though not a bill of exchange, is intended to enable a person to obtain payment from him of the sum mentioned in the document; (b) a draft payable on demand drawn by him upon himself, whether payable at the head ofﬁce or some other ofﬁce of his bank; he does not, in doing so, incur any laibility by only of the absence of, or irregularity, in endorsement, and the payment discharges the instrument.
3
Rights of bankers collecting cheques not endorsed by holders .................................................................................................... 1
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A banker who meets the stated conditions has the same rights the holder would have had if the cheque had been endorsed in blank.

3. Rights of bankers collecting cheques not endorsed by holders A banker who gives value for, or has a lien on, a cheque payable to order which the holder delivers to him for collection without endorsing it, has such (if any) rights as he would have had if, upon delivery, the holder had endorsed it in blank.
4
Unendorsed cheques as evidence of payment ..................................................................................................................................... 1
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An unendorsed cheque, or certain other instruments, can be used as evidence that the payee received the amount paid by the instrument if it appears the banker paid it.

4. Unendorsed cheques as evidence of payment An unendorsed cheque or other instrument to which subsection (2) of section two applies which appears to have been paid by the banker on whom it is drawn is evidence of the receipt by the payee of the sum payable by the cheque or other instrument, as the case may be.
5
Protection of bankers collecting payment of cheques, etc. ............................................................................................................ 1
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A banker who acts in good faith and without negligence is not liable to the true owner when collecting payment of a covered cheque or similar instrument, even if the customer has no or a defective title.

5. Protection of bankers collecting payment of cheques, etc. (1) Where a banker, in good faith and without negligence— (a) receives payment for a customer of an instrument to which this section applies; or By Laws.Africa and contributors. Licensed under CC-BY. Share widely and freely. 1 Cheques Act, 1959 (Chapter 424) Zambia (b) having credited a customer's account with the amount of such an instrument, receives payment thereof for himself; and the customer has no title, or a defective title, to the instrument, the banker does not incur any liability to the true owner of the instrument by reason only of having received payment thereof. (2) This section applies to the following instruments, namely: (a) cheques; (b) any document issued by a customer of a banker which, though not a bill of exchange, is intended to enable a person to obtain payment from that banker of the sum mentioned in the document; (c) any draft payable on demand drawn by a banker upon himself, whether payable at the head ofﬁce or some other ofﬁce of his bank. (3) A banker is not to be treated for the purposes of this section as having been negligent by reason only of his failure to concern himself with absence of, or irregularity in, endorsement of an instrument. [As amended by G.N. No. 441 of 1963]
6
Application of certain provisions of Bills of Exchange Act, 1882, to instruments not being bills of exchange ............. 2
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Rules about crossed cheques also apply to certain other instruments covered by section 5.

6. Application of certain provisions of Bills of Exchange Act, 1882, to instruments not being bills of exchange The provisions of the Bills of Exchange Act, 1882, of the United Kingdom, relating to crossed cheques shall, in so far as they are in force in the Republic, have effect in relation to instruments, other than cheques, to which section ﬁve of this Act applies as they have effect in relation to cheques. [As amended by G.N. No. 441 of 1963]
7
Government to be regarded as a customer of banker ....................................................................................................................... 2
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If the Government has an account with a banker, it is treated as that banker’s customer for this Act and for the Bills of Exchange Act, 1882 as far as it applies in the Republic.

7. Government to be regarded as a customer of banker If the Government has an account with a banker, the Government shall, for the purposes of this Act and the Bills of Exchange Act, 1882, of the United Kingdom, in so far as it is in force in the Republic, be regarded as a customer of that banker. [S.I. No. 159 of 1965]
8
Construction, saving and non-application of British Acts ................................................................................................................ 2
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This section links sections 2 to 7 with the UK Bills of Exchange Act 1882, says this Act does not make non-negotiable instruments negotiable, and states that the listed British Acts do not apply in the Republic.

8. Construction, saving and non-application of British Acts (1) The provisions of sections two to seven shall be construed as one with the Bills of Exchange Act, 1882, of the United Kingdom, in so far as it is in force in the Republic. (2) The provisions of this Act do not make negotiable any instrument which, apart from them, is not negotiable in terms of the Bills of Exchange Act, 1882, of the United Kingdom, in so far as it is in force in the Republic. (3) It is hereby declared that the provisions of the British Acts speciﬁed in the Schedule shall not on or after the commencement of this Act have effect in the Republic. [As amended by G.I. No. 441 of 1963 and S.I. No. 159 of 1965] Schedule (Section 8) Provisions of British Acts not applying in the Republic The Bills of Exchange Act, 1882 Section 82 By Laws.Africa and contributors. Licensed under CC-BY. Share widely and freely. 2 Cheques Act, 1959 (Chapter 424) Zambia The Revenue Act, 1883 Section 17 The Bills of Exchange (Crossed Cheques) Act, 1906 The whole Act The Bills of Exchange Act (1882) Amendment Act, 1932 The whole Act [As amended by G.N. No. 441 of 1963 and S.I. No. 159 of 1965] By Laws.Africa and contributors. Licensed under CC-BY. Share widely and freely. 3

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Cheques Act, 1959

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