Pakistani cheques are written in English, with amounts in rupees and the lakh and crore system, and they clear through NIFT, the clearing house used by the State Bank of Pakistan. Unlike India, Pakistan has no single cheque size: each bank issues its own design, so each bank needs its own print layout.

This guide covers how to write a Pakistani cheque, how long it stays valid, how clearing is changing in late 2026, what Section 489-F means for a bounced cheque, and how to set up printing for Pakistani banks in ChequeMaster.

How cheques are used in Pakistan

Cheques remain an everyday business instrument in Pakistan: supplier payments, rent, salaries in smaller firms, and security cheques handed over with contracts and loans. Digital channels such as Raast and internet banking are growing fast, but many counterparties still ask for a cheque because it is a signed, dated promise with legal weight behind it.

Because cheques carry criminal liability when they bounce (see below), Pakistani businesses tend to be careful about what they sign. Printing cheques helps here: the amount in figures and words always agree, and every leaf is recorded against its number.

How to write a Pakistani cheque correctly

  • Date: the five pre-added layouts all use boxed date digits. Write or print one digit per box in DD MM YYYY order.
  • Payee: the name on the payee's account. Keep it to the one line available.
  • Amount in words: lakh and crore are the familiar convention, as in India. PKR 12,50,000 reads "Rupees Twelve Lakh Fifty Thousand Only". Start at the left edge and end with "Only".
  • Currency and decimals: the Pakistani rupee is divided into 100 paisa, but paisa amounts are rare in practice. Two decimal places is correct; whole-rupee amounts print as "Only" with no paisa.
  • Amount in figures: close to the "Rs." label, with lakh grouping (12,50,000), closed with "/-" or asterisks.
  • Crossing: two parallel lines with "A/C Payee Only" at the top-left mean the cheque can only be paid into the payee's account. Use it for anything you post or hand to a third party. See crossed cheques.
  • Bearer: most leaves print "or Bearer". Leave it on an open cheque and whoever presents it can be paid at the counter. Strike it out, or cross the cheque, if that is not what you want.
  • Bottom band: keep everything clear of the coded strip along the bottom edge.

Validity and post-dated cheques

Pakistani banks generally treat a cheque as stale once it is more than six months past its date and return it unpaid. The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 only requires presentation within a "reasonable time", so the six-month figure is banking practice rather than a number in the statute. Some banks print a shorter period on the leaf; if so, that applies. Confirm with your bank before relying on an old cheque.

Post-dated cheques are common, especially for instalments, rent and security. A post-dated cheque cannot be paid before its date, and the validity period runs from the date written on it. If you issue several, record each one with its date so you know what is still outstanding. Our guide to managing post-dated cheques covers a simple monthly routine.

Clearing: NIFT and the new image-based system

Inter-bank cheques in Pakistan clear through NIFT (National Institutional Facilitation Technologies), which acts as the clearing house. NIFT began rolling out image-based clearing in September 2021 under the State Bank of Pakistan's digital cheque clearing launch.

The bigger change is happening now. The State Bank has announced the Pakistan Express Clearing System (PECS), based on cheque truncation: the presenting bank scans the cheque and sends the image through NIFT, and the paper stays where it was deposited. As reported on 6 October 2026, a pilot with selected banks runs from 15 October to 15 November 2026, the remaining clearing members join from 16 November to 31 December 2026, and nationwide coverage is due by 30 April 2027.

For anyone issuing cheques, truncation means the scanned image is what the paying bank checks. Clean printing inside the fields, nothing over the coded band, and no overwriting all matter more than they did when staff handled the paper.

Bounced cheques and Section 489-F

General information, not legal advice. Laws and bank rules change; check with your bank or a qualified lawyer for your situation.

Under Section 489-F of the Pakistan Penal Code, dishonestly issuing a cheque towards repayment of a loan or fulfilment of an obligation, which is then dishonoured on presentation, is an offence punishable with imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine, or both. The section was inserted in 2002. As the Sindh High Court has explained in a reported judgment, the prosecution must show the cheque was issued dishonestly and for a loan or obligation; the accused can defend by showing arrangements had been made with the bank for the cheque to be honoured. The payee can also bring a civil recovery claim.

The practical lesson: only issue a cheque when the money will be there on its date, and keep a record of every cheque you sign, including security cheques. Common causes of returns are listed in why cheques bounce.

Pre-added Pakistani bank layouts

ChequeMaster is not limited to these banks. It works with any bank's cheque, in any country. The layouts below are simply the Pakistani bank layouts that come pre-added, so you can start printing without any setup. For any other bank, build a layout from a scan of a blank leaf in a few minutes, and add as many banks and layouts as you need.

  • Allied Bank
  • Bank Alfalah
  • Faysal Bank
  • Habib Bank (Prestige)
  • Standard Chartered Bank

These five banks' cheques differ in size and field positions, and Standard Chartered's leaf is noticeably larger than the others. Pick the layout by the bank name on your cheque book, and expect to check your printer's paper guides when you switch between banks. Habib Bank's layout is for its Prestige stationery; if your HBL cheque looks different, or for any other bank, build a layout from a scan of a blank leaf using the layout editor.

Setting up ChequeMaster for Pakistan

  1. Choose Pakistani Rupee as the currency and 2 decimal digits.
  2. Select the lakh/crore words system and turn thousand separators on.
  3. Set the date format to DD/MM/YYYY to match the date boxes.
  4. Create a cheque book with your bank's layout and the exact number range on the leaves. Set the A/C Payee text, and hide the Bearer text if you strike it out on paper anyway.
  5. Print a test on plain paper and hold it against a real leaf. Check the date boxes first; if digits sit on the lines, adjust the left margin. See fixing alignment.

ChequeMaster runs on Windows, prints on your bank-issued leaves with an ordinary laser or inkjet printer, and keeps every cheque's number, payee, amount, date and status on your PC.