Financial Management Authority
Unredeemed cheques
10th January 2023
The Financial Management Authority shall not accept unredeemed cheques as of February 15th 2023.
The Financial Management Authority stopped issuing cheques in 2011, but occasionally requests for payment of unredeemed cheques are received.
Laws regarding cheques no. 94/1933 state the following provisions regarding the limitation:
Article 29 A cheque, issued in Iceland and payable domestically, must be presented for payment within 30 days.
Article 52 Claims of check holders against assignors, issuers and other check debtors expire six months from the end of the presentation period.
After the claim according to the check expires, the claim for payment of wages remains. It is governed by the general statute of limitations, compared to the Act on the Statute of Limitation of Debts and Other Claims from 1905, which applies to claims arising before January 1st 2008 and the Act on Prescription of Claims Rights from 2007 which applies after January 1st 2008. According to both Acts, claims for payable wages expire in four years.
A decision has been made not to accept unredeemed cheques as of February 15th 2023, as the statute of limitations for claims has long passed.