NEWS Cheques could soon be the financial world's equivalent of the penny-farthing, as debit cards, internet and phone banking continue to wipe out the need for paper money.
According to predictions from Halifax, cheques could go the way of dodo within the next 20 years as consumers and businesses now prefer electronic to physical payments.
Cheque use, the bank found, is now at its lowest ever point. In 2004, 2.1 billion cheques were issued, down seven per cent on the previous year.
Businesses' cheque use in particular has plummeted, as firms now almost exclusively prefer to pay their employees using electronic transfer systems such as Bacs. Around 90 per cent of UK workers are now paid in this way.
If the downward trend continues, cheques could be dead by 2025, according to Halifax.
Banknotes are also falling victim to the rise in internet, telephone and electronic payments. Between February 2001 and 2005, the Bank of England cut the number of banknotes issued by 25 per cent, from 982 million to 735 million.
Comments
There is 1 comment. Join the discussion
1. Nick Cole
Hardly!
Do the peddlers of such mischievous ideas only pass money to shops or large organisations? Is this the only way of conducting transactions?
Cash is very much the main methodology between private individuals, and what about granny's birthday pressies?
Cheques (and cash) may well reduce in proportion but cannot be eliminated, not until there is a universal and foolproof method of inter-personal payments. What happens in the middle of the night when your remote device battery fails, or the satellite gets out of range or the mobile phone system gets overloaded or shut down!