23. Chequebooks

(a) the Chequebook shall be issued by the Bank to the Customer at the Bank’s sole discretion, subject to the Chequebook Terms and Conditions which are set out in this paragraph and on the inside cover of the Chequebook;

(b) the Bank may charge a fee for the issuance of a Chequebook and any other additional Chequebooks issued to the Customer;

(c) the Bank may refuse to make payment to the Customer or any other third party on any cheque which is not drawn in the manner specified by the Chequebook Terms and Conditions set out below:

(i) the Customer must write, date and sign the Cheque in clear handwriting using legible ink (preferably blue or black) in the currency of the Account for an amount not exceeding the Available Balance;

(ii) when drawing a Cheque: (a) the amount should be stated in both words and figures in such a manner as to prevent the insertion of any other word or figure and/or to prevent any fraudulent alterations; (b) the Cheque must be signed by an Authorised Signatory as per the terms of the Mandate; (c) any alteration to the Cheque must be counter-signed by an Authorised Signatory as per the terms of the Mandate; (d) any un-crossing of the Cheque must be done by an Authorised Signatory as per the terms of the Mandate; (e) no incomplete Cheque is given to any person; and (f) all uncompleted Cheques are kept in safe custody at all times.

(iii) the Customer must count the number of Cheques contained in the Chequebook at the time the Customer is issued with the Chequebook and periodically throughout the use of the Chequebook. If any Cheque is found to be lost or missing, the Customer must inform the Bank immediately; (a) the Bank may refuse to honour a Cheque where the date of the Cheque is more than six (6) months old or where the date is in the future (post-dated cheques); (b) where the Customer wants the Bank to stop payment on a Cheque, the Customer must immediately request the Bank in writing to do so. Upon receipt of a written notice from the Customer to stop payment of a Cheque, the Bank shall record the notice and stop the payment provided that such notice is received before the transaction sought to be stopped has occurred. The Bank reserves the right to charge an administration fee for stopping the payment of a Cheque; (c) the Bank shall not be liable to the Customer in any way and the Customer shall fully indemnify the Bank against any claims by any third party should the Bank make payment against a Cheque on the Customer’s behalf, where the Cheque is presumed to be issued by the Customer but the signature or content of the Cheque and/or written instruction has been forged if:

(i) the Customer has facilitated such forgery; or (ii) there has been a previous forgery of the Customer’s Cheque or note of instruction without the Customer having previously objected to the payment;

(a) the Bank acts only as the Customer’s collecting agent and if the Customer’s Cheque or any other third party instrument is lost or stolen while in the custody of the Bank the Bank shall not be liable for any loss of profit or opportunity suffered by the Customer or any other person and/or for any charges incurred by the Customer or any other person in stopping payment thereof even where the Bank has been negligent