Cheques here to stay for now

[surround sounds]

Just heard on BBC radio that cheques are here to stay for now . They was fazing them out from 2018 but now they are keeping them cause it's what the customers wants. For me this is good news

[Larry B Entertainment]

Thats good news. I like recieving cheques. It feels more worthwhile than a bank transfer.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Thats good news. I like recieving cheques. It feels more worthwhile than a bank transfer.

Of course and enjoy paying the bank to process them and also the effort/cost of going to the local branch and then waiting a few days for it to clear???

In this day and age of online banking, paypal and such like I see no need for cheques.

[surround sounds]

Of course and enjoy paying the bank to process them and also the effort/cost of going to the local branch and then waiting a few days for it to clear???

In this day and age of online banking, paypal and such like I see no need for cheques.

Yes i agree but not every one can use a computer,so best of both worlds if cheques are staying..After all thats why they are staying because customers like them,especially the older people..

[Corabar Entertainment]

I think my 80-year-old mother might disagree, Neil.

There are still a lot of people who do not have internet access, and of those who do, there's a fair percentage who do not have internet banking set up.

Yes, most people now have debit cards instead of cheque books, but there are times when a debit card isn't an option.

[Mark Wild]

I have quite a few younger couples who say 'I wouldn't have a clue how to do a bank transfer Mark, I'll send you a cheque if that's O.k.?

There's demand for both imo and like Surround Sounds says they're extended the life of the cheque due to customer demand.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Thing is everyone moaned about chip n pin and that went through without a hitch. People don't like changing their habits but push come to shove I would bet once they did learnt how to do a transfer they wouldn't go back to cheques.

[Corabar Entertainment]

...and how would those without internet access do it? Trip to the bank every time they wanted to make a payment?

[DeckstarDeluxe]

...and how would those without internet access do it? Trip to the bank every time they wanted to make a payment?

Card payments over the phone? I use a few with the automated service and never had an issue (in fact its better than talking to someone sometimes depending on their grasp of English).

[Larry B Entertainment]

Of course and enjoy paying the bank to process them and also the effort/cost of going to the local branch and then waiting a few days for it to clear???



There are pros and cons of every payment method.

[DiscoMagic]

Funnily enough, I was having a conversation about this very thing with my parents last night.

I think cheques are terrible old school, and they are a pain in :censored:. You have to take them to a bank, wait for them to clear and hope they don't bounce.

I am going to stop accepting cheques, except in special circumstances, because of a problem I recently encoutered. and ask clients to using bank transfers instead. And for those who don't use internet banking, they can use phone banking instead which is an easy telephone call from the comfort of their armchair!

[Larry B Entertainment]

there's a fair percentage who do not have internet banking set up.



Like me :o

[DeckstarDeluxe]

I didn't until recently and I'm way late to party on it and I have to say its bloody fantastic! Saving me £20 pm in bank fees and nice to keep a day to day grasp on in/out goings and doesn't cost a penny!

[Corabar Entertainment]

Don't get me wrong, I think that all the various electronic payment methods are great, but I do appreciate that not everyone has the facilities.

Neil, you suggest card payment over the phone, but until every business and individual person has the ability to take payment by card, that's out too.

This is where a cheque has an advantage - everyone has the ability to both issue and cash them.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Well I can only account for my views on this naturally but I can't take a business seriously if they don't accept cards.

They have been fazed out since 2007(from memory) and the OP stated that 2018 was the intended date to have completely faded them out then that's more than enough time for people to learn the various methods of payment IMO.

[Corabar Entertainment]

I understand exactly what you're saying, Neil, and to an extent, I am just playing devil's advocate here, but putting aside the merits of whether or not businesses should take cards, cheques aren't used solely for people to pay businesses.

What about Aunty Doris sending you a £10 cheque for your birthday? ....You'll end up with a voucher for a shop you'll never buy anything in! :p :D

[DeckstarDeluxe]

I understand exactly what you're saying, Neil, and to an extent, I am just playing devil's advocate here, but putting aside the merits of whether or not businesses should take cards, cheques aren't used solely for people to pay businesses.

What about Aunty Doris sending you a £10 cheque for your birthday? ....You'll end up with a voucher for a shop you'll never buy anything in! :p :D

Indeed but for the small percentage of people that use it is it worth the likely cost of having such a payment method in place? One way or another we all pay that cost.

Anyways, would be great if some other members jumped in here I don't fancy my chances against Angela ;)

[Corabar Entertainment]

Indeed but for the small percentage of people that use it is it worth the likely cost of having such a payment method in place? One way or another we all pay that cost....but seeing as they are no longer being scrapped due to public demand, that argument is null and void.


Anyways, would be great if some other members jumped in here I don't fancy my chances against Angela ;):lol:

[surround sounds]

i am with Angela on this one:D

[surround sounds]

Here is the link and i have also copy and pasted what it said
http://moneyfacts.co.uk/news/money/cheque-u-turn-hailed-as-victory-for-common-sense130711/

Cheque u-turn hailed as ‘victory for common sense’
The decision to reverse the abolition of cheques by 2018 has been hailed as a victory for 'common sense' and 'consumer choice'.

The Payments Council announced yesterday afternoon that it had taken the decision to not phase out the payment method over the next seven years.

It said that cheques will be kept for as long as people need them.

The original decision proved controversial as business organisations and campaigners for the elderly said that cheques are still widely relied upon.

A group of MPs had ordered that new evidence be taken following the backlash.

Dr Ros Altmann, director general of Saga, said that the decision was the right one, pointing out that almost seven in ten older people disagreed with the Payments Council's decision t abolish them.

"Money in the modern era is easy-come-easy-go; the ceremony of writing a cheque gives importance to a transaction, and reminds people of an era when money was a great deal more scarce, and a great deal more valued," she added.

"This is a fantastic victory for common sense - Saga has daily contact with millions of older people, and we have led or backed every effort to ensure the powers that be know that the cheque is well short of being past it."

Consumer group Which? criticised the original decision to get rid of cheques.

"This is great news for the millions of people who regularly use cheques," said Which? chief executive, Peter Vicary-Smith.

"Whilst it may be more convenient for the banks to process other forms of payment, it's not so easy for their customers".

"To announce a timetable for the abolition of cheques before any suitable alternatives had been put in place was never a good idea. This is a victory for common sense."

While cheque usage has fallen in recent years, more than one billion payments are made using the old paper method every year, and are still the preferred and most trusted way of payment for many.

Kay Blair, vice chair of the Consumer Panel, said that people should be allowed to choose the payment method they prefer when spending their own money.

"Three years down the line from the original inquiry there is still a lack of effective alternatives to cheques."

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I might start accepting payment in goats.

[Corabar Entertainment]

While cheque usage has fallen in recent years, more than one billion payments are made using the old paper method every year, and are still the preferred and most trusted way of payment for many. ..so definitely not such a small percentage then.


I might start accepting payment in goats.

How many goats for a 4 hour birthday party on Saturday then, Daz, and do they have to be nanny, or will billy goats do? :D

(....or did you mean 'groats' :p)