Abolishing use of cheques?

C

cinders55

Registered User
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Sorry if this has been asked already, I did a search first but didn't find any reference to my query. I know that most shops and stores have long since stopped accepting cheques but is it true that their use is to be phased out completely before the end of the year? If it is true, how will elderly people for example, who don't have access to online banking etc., pay bills by post? Some of them, just like my own father, aren't physically able to even use the Post Office services. It may sound like a stupid question when most of us use cheques once in a blue moon, but I'm concerned about this unstoppable push towards all things electronic. When there's a power cut in our house, the online banking bites the dust!
 
There are no plans to abolish cheques this year. The 2016 date is a target date and there are no industry plans in place to meet this target

The UK are planning on abolishing cheques by October 2018, subject to suitable alternative methods of payment being in place

In Ireland (North and South), the overall volume of cheques expected to be issued this year is approx 180 million,
 
The sooner they are phased out the better. They are a complete nuisance.
The credit card levy should instead be applied to cheque books to hasten their demise.

If it is true, how will elderly people for example, who don't have access to online banking etc., pay bills by post?
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They can get access to online banking. I know of an elderly person who went to free computer training and got a second hand computer. They are now able to do online banking. They don't have to try to make their way to the post box.
 
Abolishing use of cheques

Thank you all for the clarification, it's helpful to have this information. Just on the subject of the elderly, I'm glad for the person mentioned who did a course etc., but they were obviously sufficiently well to avail of the opportunity. I am more concerned about those who are not well enough through vision impairment and/or immobility for instance; the loss of independence that these problems inflict on people is hard enough to bear without having to surrender their financial independence as well, I know what I'm talking about here! Direct debits are fine for recurring charges but they don't take care of the once off transactions. Cheques may be a nuisance indeed but they don't require a power supply to issue, they don't suffer from system breakdown and it's hard to hack into them as well! I do my own banking online all the time but even I don't want to lose the flexibility of writing a cheque for kids birthdays for example; the Banks have gone to such lengths to drive us off their premises that regularly having to stand in line for a bank draft is a grim prospect. I just don't think it has been properly thought through yet or are we heading back to, rather than moving away from cash? Better times ahead for the muggers and burglars perhaps?!!!
 
We are moving towards a cashless, and chequeless society. It is happening. We should not ever have to queue up in banks any more. For your kids birthday, you could just transfer money directly to their account, and save the stamp.
As for 'system breakdowns' - our local branch lost 8 cheques we sent to them a couple of weeks ago. They've left the burden on us to follow up and get people to reissue the cheques.
 
umop3p!sdn said:
The sooner they are phased out the better. They are a complete nuisance.
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I pay my childcare provider by cheque. And tradesmen doing work in the house.

Should I have a wad of cash on hand just because cheques are 'a complete nuisance' ? What about the security risks of withdrawing and maintaining large amounts of cash ?

Surely encouraging (by closing down the main alternative) cash payments to trademen is facilitating tax evasion ?

Something like the M-Pesa system in Kenya could be an alternative, but I haven't heard of anything in Europe, let alone Ireland.
 
I pay my childcare provider by cheque. And tradesmen doing work in the house.

Should I have a wad of cash on hand just because cheques are 'a complete nuisance' ? What about the security risks of withdrawing and maintaining large amounts of cash ?
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No, just transfer the money directly from your bank account to their bank account. Simple.
 
umop3p!sdn said:
No, just transfer the money directly from your bank account to their bank account. Simple.
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How ?

- going to a bank branch and filling out a form.
-using the bank's online service which could take at least one week (using 365 Online) for the funds to arrive.

Are either of those 'simpler' than writing a cheque ?
 
Well Tarfhead, I suppose that's yet another disadvantage to bailing out banks. When bad banks aren't allowed to fail, you end up with rubbish, backward service.
If it can take week for an electronic funds transfer, this country desperately needs new banks.
 
TarfHead said:
-using the bank's online service which could take at least one week (using 365 Online) for the funds to arrive.
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They'll still have it in their account quicker then you writing a cheque, them posting it or travelling to branch, and then waiting for it to clear.
TarfHead said:
Are either of those 'simpler' than writing a cheque ?
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Yes, for your creche, if you set up a standing order recurring payment on your electronic banking.
 
I volunteer with the elderly and there is no way that 99% of the older people i work with can handle online banking.
• Many can hardly afford to pay their bills, never mind a laptop and broadband
• A lot have no family or younger folk to show them how to do it
• A lot wouldn't even know where to go to get a course
• Because of disabilities or arthritis a lot can't manage a mouse or touch pad
• They wouldn't have a clue how to update software, browsers, virus protection
• Because of impaired vision or deafness, a lot of the banks websites aren't suitably accessible, also a lot of the older folk would need to know how to use screen readers etc

I understand the need for banking to go online, but cheques really are a lifesaver for some sections of society
 
By the time that cheques are abolished, payments using mobile devices will be as pervasive as mobile phone calls are today. The iPhone is there already as many providers of microfinance in developing countries.

I wonder of there is any estimate of the tax lost to non declared transactions such as child minding or tradespeople or any products or services now sold for cash. It could form a significant part of the economic recovery !
 
TarfHead said:
-using the bank's online service which could take at least one week (using 365 Online) for the funds to arrive.
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If I do an online EFT from my Halifax account before midday, it will be in the other persons (Irish) bank account before 9am the next day.
 
I think this is ridiculous! I am not old and have full access stop a computer but i do like to have the choice to how I decide to pay! I do use cheques, they are handy if I don t have any cash on me. I do not pay in shops with them but for example the last time, i had to make an emergency stop at my doctor, no cash on me so paid by cheque. Why are we forced into a fully computerised and electronic world???

I understand the need for banking to go online, but cheques really are a lifesaver for some sections of society .
I could not agree more with Paddi22!!

I would imagine and hope that by then, they will have a system in place that will allow flexibilty for the elderly or for those like me who still believe in having the choice of how I decide to pay!
 
I Have just paid my car insurance via check. I avoid Direct Debits because of past problems, and on line banking because of security issues. They are so clever now, I almost got caught a couple of months back when the hackers managed to intercept the bank page and throw up an identical page but asking for extra information. When I phoned the bank they said I had a virus, even though I keep my software up to date.
 
This is akin to someone stealing cheques out of your cheque book - or other cheque fraud.

In your case you almost got caught.

Remember cheques can bounce, be stolen and go missing (like what happened to me a couple of weeks ago). They're also a pita to administer.

When customers pay electronically in our company, it's all automated. They automatically get their product and the VAT invoice is created and the payment goes into our accounts system. When people say they want to pay by cheque, it really throws a spanner in the works. Everything has to be done manually, and we still have to find a way of getting the cheque into our bank account. This involves either wasting half the day visiting our (not so local) bank branch, or posting them the cheques so they can lose them. Even then, if they don't lose the cheques, we have to wait yet more time, in case the cheque bounces.
 
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