It has been reported that by 2018 cheques could be phased out altogether in the UK, but that this will only happen if suitable alternative for cheques are found. The data has been released by the UK Payments Council, which has set the date of 2018 to try and encourage alternative forms of payment to be developed and used so that the end of the cheque will not have such a huge impact on consumers.

Whilst many people have stopped using cheques in favour of credit and debit cards, many consumers, such as older consumers, still tend to feel more comfortable using cheques as a form of payment. In addition to this many people still use cheques to make payments on bills and to pay for online or mail order purchases. It is these people that will feel the effects most of the disappearance of the cheque, and this is why the UK Payments Council wants to ensure that there is a suitable alternative available.

Cheques have been around for around three hundred and fifty years, and will be sorely missed by some consumers as well as by many smaller businesses who use cheques as their main type of transaction. However, the UK Payments Council has said that by 2018 there should be ‘no scenario’ for using cheques. It added that this was a payment method that was in ‘terminal decline’ and said that cheques would hopefully be phased out by the end of October in 2018.

The UK Payment Council said in a statement: “The goal is to ensure that by 2018 there is no scenario where customers, individuals or businesses, still need to use a cheque. The board will be especially concerned that the needs of elderly and vulnerable people are met.”

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