Payment
Payment refers to the act of the holder making a payment presentation to the payee at the specified place within the specified period, and the payee paying the bill according to the order of the bill. Payment is the ultimate purpose of bill circulation and the end point of the circulation process. The payment referred to here refers to proper payment, namely: ① payment on or after the due date of the bill; ② the bill is paid by the payee or acceptor; ③ if the bill is transferred, its endorsement should be continuous and true; 4 the payee pays in good faith, that is, he has fulfilled his professional duties according to professional practices and made payments without knowing any defects in the holder’s rights by using professional information.
The paying bank shall pay in the currency stated in the bill. If the bill amount is in foreign currency, it is generally converted into the currency of the place of payment at the market exchange rate on the payment date; if the parties to the bill have other agreements on the currency type of bill payment, they shall follow their agreements.
Dishonour
Dishonour, also known as “return of bill”, refers to the act of the holder presenting the bill for acceptance or payment in accordance with the provisions of the bill law, but being refused to accept or refuse to pay. In addition to refusing to accept and refusing to pay, when the payee avoids meeting, dies or declares bankruptcy, so that payment is actually impossible to achieve, it is also called protest. When a bill is dishonoured, the holder must make a protest certificate in time and issue a protest notice to each previous endorser and drawee to exercise the right of recourse according to law.
A protest certificate is a document issued by the notary office at the place of payment to prove the fact that the payee refuses to pay in order to preserve the bill rights and exercise the right of recourse. When making a protest certificate, the notary office should present the bill to the payee again. If it is still refused, the notary office at the place of payment should make a protest certificate within the time prescribed by law and hand it to the holder in time for recourse. The content of the protest certificate usually includes: ① the name of the refuser and the refused; ② the reason for the refusal; ③ the place and date of making the protest certificate; ④ the signature of the person who made the protest certificate, etc.
Notice of dishonour, also known as “return notice”, means that the holder informs the person being pursued of the fact of refusal in writing when the bill is refused. The purpose of the notice of dishonor is to let the debtor of the bill know of the dishonor as early as possible so that he can be prepared.
Under normal circumstances, the holder must issue a notice of dishonor to his predecessor in accordance with the regulations. After receiving the holder’s notice of dishonor, the predecessor endorser should notify his predecessor within the prescribed time, up to the drawer. In addition, the holder can also notify all predecessors of the fact of dishonor, so that each predecessor does not need to continue to notify its predecessor. The British “Bills of Exchange Act” stipulates that if the holder does not make a notice of dishonor and issue it in time, he will lose his right of recourse. The “Geneva Uniform Bills of Exchange Law” believes that failure to notify the dishonor in time does not lose the right of recourse. Because the notice of dishonor is only the obligation of the subsequent holder to the predecessor, but if the predecessor suffers losses due to failure to notify in time, the holder shall be liable for compensation, and the amount of compensation shall not exceed the amount of the bill.