According to data from the UAE central bank, the value of bounced cheques in the country had declined in the first four months of this year, despite a rise in their number during the same period. The total value of bounced cheques fell 25% to Dhs18.6bn compared with Dhs24.8bn in the corresponding period of 2009, while their total number rose more than 8% to 588,570 during the period from 544,196 cases of returned cheques registered in the same period a year earlier.