A total of 17.815 million cheques worth Dh886.7 billion have been handled by the Cheque Clearing System during the first seven months of 2017, UAE Central Bank said.

The number of cheques cleared during July reached 2.66 million worth Dh131.7 billion, a growth of 4.7 percent over June during which cheques worth Dh111.3 billion were cleared, reported Wam, the Emirates official news agency.

Bounced cheques since January through the end of July were valued at Dh Dh40 billion, accounting for 4.5 percent only of the total value of cheques handled by the system at the same monitored period.

The month of May is still the most active in terms of value, hitting Dh133.4 billion in value, through 2.7 million cheques, with 107,000 cheques worth Dh5.4 billion rejected for different reasons.

In March, a total of 2.6 million cheques worth Dh132 billion were cleared, 108,000 cheques worth Dh6 billion rejected, while in January 2.6 million cheques worth Dh129.5 billion were handled and 116,000 worth Dh6.4 billion were bounced. The remaining value of cheques is divided over the other months, including July.

The spiralling value of cheques traded through the system translates the growing momentum observed across different economic sector in the country.