The theft of a cheque sent through the post is certainly not a new phenomenon. We live in difficult times. With the advance in computer technology the forgery of documents has become easier. It should be a concern to both banks and their customers to search for a safer method of payment of...

In the present case, the plaintiff sued the defendant on three dishonoured cheques drawn in its favour by Cater-Mart (Pty) Ltd. In each case the drawer was described as “Cater-Mart (Pty) Ltd 2000/001852/07 (S/HILL) 001533134” and the cheques were signed by the defendant without indicating...

Much has been written on the legal nature of the banker-customer relationship (see eg the extensive discussion by Malan, Pretorius and Du Toit Malan on bills of exchange, cheques and promissory notes in South African law (2009) para 217 and sources cited there). However, the question whether,...

This decision deals with a number of important aspects of the law relating to cheques, such as "kiting" (also known as "cross-firing", "round-tripping" or "merry-go-round"), the effect of the drawer's liquidation on the drawee's duty and authority to pay a cheque in terms of section 73 of the...

A legal obligation envisages performance and is extinguished when the required performance is duly made. Monetary obligations must normally be discharged by the payment of the appropriate sum of money, that is to say, by means of legal tender. It is trite that a cheque is not legal tender and...

In a recent case, the application for provisional sentence against the fourth respondent based on a cheque is relevant for the present purposes. A brief examination of the circumstances under which the cheque was drawn and issued reveals the difficulties caused by a less-than-proper...

The drawer of a cheque is usually justified to countermand payment of a cheque if there has been some breach of contract or misconduct on the part of the creditor. This will be determined by the circumstances of every case. However, the drawer is entitled to countermand payment of the cheque...

Melamed Finance (Pty) Ltd v VOC Investments Ltd may turn out to be a very important decision. The facts are fairly straightforward: On 13 November 2000 VOC Investment's computer system generated four cheques in favour of a payee, Damelin Textiles. All the cheques were drawn on the Standard Bank...

This decision may have important consequences for practising attorneys as far as their trust accounts are concerned. Not only did the Supreme Court of Appeal correct the court a quo's misconceptions regarding the nature of an attorney's liability as drawer on a cheque drawn by him on his trust...