News & Views Detail

Cheques will be phased out by October 2018, but only if adequate alternatives are developed, according to the Payments Council.  There will be annual checks on the progress of other payments systems and a final review of the decision will be held in 2016.  The goal is “to ensure that by 2018 there is no scenario where customers, individuals or businesses, still need to use a cheque".

As we mentioned in the last edition it’s all very well getting rid of cheques but what exactly will these ‘adequate alternatives’ be?  It’s not really about paying by chip and PIN or contactless or mobile in a retailer it’s more about how do we make P2P payments such as paying the window cleaner or friends and family.  Mobiles can have a role to play here but as recent surveys have shown their impact is still minimal and security is still a barrier to be overcome.  Faster Payments system will also have an impact but is probably more B2B than P2P so we have to hope that given the date is now set for getting rid of cheques we will see new initiatives in payments coming to the fore in the next few years in order to be established and trusted by the public by 2018.