March away from cheques continues apace

Transport for London (TfL) has joined an increasingly long list of UK organisations no longer accepting cheques as a form of payment.

Word emerged this week that the capital's body for public transport and supermarket chain Morrisons have joined a number of other major high-street brands that see cheques as too costly or generally inefficient.

A spokeswoman for TfL said there had been no big announcement but that customers will have seen a notice on the body's website since earlier this month.

Cheques account for just under a tenth of non-cash payments in the UK, according to Apacs. In some countries, even with the rise of ecommerce, use of cheques remains more popular.

A study of European consumers by Forrester Research at the start of the year found some will place orders online but still pay by cheque on delivery. Seventeen per cent of French customers who buy online pay this way, for example.

However, many others welcome the change to other forms of transaction.

Consult Hyperion has worked with operator O2 so consumers can use their mobile handsets for payments. The system uses NFC (near field communications), the same kind of contactless payment technology employed by TfL's Oyster card.

Consult Hyperion director Dave Birch said: "Some reporting about why people need to move away from cheques has been harsh. But if someone sends me a cheque I personally think it's annoying. I'd rather they use PayPal."

The use of cheques in the US remains higher than in most countries but, as in Europe, has been falling in recent years. In Scandinavia, for example, using cheques has largely been priced out of the market.