The professional cashiers of credit institutions play an important role in the life cycle of cash, since they receive/pay money over the counter from/to the general public, both for deposits and payments.
Therefore, in their daily handling of this task, they are obliged, inter alia, to withhold counterfeit/suspect banknotes and coins (Article 8 (1) of the Organic Law of Banco de Portugal). This obligation applies not only to the banknotes and coins presented directly and in person at the counter, but also to those that are delivered through customer-operated cash dispensers.
In case counterfeit, false or suspect banknotes or coins are retained when presented at the counter of a credit institution, the form annexed to Instruction of Banco de Portugal No 1/2010 shall be duly filled in, in compliance with the provisions of said Instruction, thus ensuring the double function of retention receipt and record of relevant information, namely:
- identification of the holder of the banknotes or coins: name and address, record of identification document and telephone for further contact;
- written record of all relevant information for further police investigation (among other data, identification of the person who handed the counterfeit banknotes to the applicant, the date, place and circumstances in which such action took place).
When retention occurs through customer-operated machines, the receipt issued by the machine should comply with the provisions laid down in Instruction of Banco de Portugal No. 1/2010, specifying the amount of banknotes withheld by denomination and providing explicit information that:
- the withheld banknotes or coins are suspected of inauthenticity;
- the effective credit in the operated account, with regard to the suspect amounts, remains dependent on the result of authenticity tests on the withheld banknotes;
- the maximum period for informing the operated account holder of the result of such authenticity testing should not exceed 5 working days, counting from the date of such operation.
Following retention, Polícia Judiciária (the criminal police) should be informed as soon as possible, within a maximum period of 5 working days, counting from the date of retention. The withheld forms of payment should be passed on to it, together with the dully filled-in forms, which shall also be digitally forwarded to Banco de Portugal, to the following email address: cncontrafaccoes@bportugal.pt.