CorpComms Magazine

What's all this about cheques being phased out?

The cheque was going to be abolished but on 12 July the Payments Council announced that the banking industry failed to find a paper-based alternative, so the cheque would exist for 'as long as customers need them'.

What...the same Payments Council that said just two years ago that there would be 'no scenario' for using cheques by 2018!

Well yes, but things change. Even though MPs, the public and charitable organisations generally supported the proposed plan.

Too right! Cheques have been around quite a few years.

Even the ancient Romans were believed to have used an early version of a cheque, known as a praescriptione, back in the first century. Cheques were officially used in England in the 17th century as a bill of exchange, and in 1717 the first Bank of England used the first printed cheque.

Why did they want to get rid of cheques in the first place?

Just 1.1 billion cheques were cashed last year, which is 70 per cent less than in 1990. But it all comes down to money, really. Cheques are the most expensive form of transaction for retailers, which is why the majority of major chains no longer accept them,

So, there's no cheques at the check out?

Very droll. Next, you'll be using jokes about bouncing back...

Ooh, good thought. Anyway, personally I find cheques a bit old fashioned.

Cheques are used by millions of people, especially the older generation. Dot Gibson who is an activist for pensioners, said that the proposed plan was: 'A selfish decision, made by people who are clearly out of touch with the way millions of older pensioners manage their affairs,' at the National Pensioners Convention.

What's the situation in other countries on cheques?

Finland abolished them back in 1993 in favour of Giro systems, and Poland followed suit in 2006 because the public preferred to use credit and debit cards. Cheques have almost disappeared in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and Scandinavia in favour of bank transfers and electronic payments.

What about Czech Land?

Behave!

Okay, so does the Payments Council think cheques will become more popular again?

Not exactly, it expects a further 40 per cent drop in cheque usage by 2016. But cheques do remain free of charge in the UK to personal customers, so we can't complain too much.

So, a lot of palaver over nothing then!

Well, the plan is to improve the cheque system that we already have instead of just getting rid of it, by making the service faster and cheaper to run.

share me: del.icio.us | digg | reddit | Tweet