A cheque is a paper document.
It has to be moved around a number of locations.
It has to be processed.
I think that if a cheque is to be bounced, the branch is notified and can take action e.g. contact the account holder.
Sometimes the cheque is forged and is subsequently bounced after being credited.
It's simpler to just ban cheques and force everyone into the 21st Century.
Brendan
Could we wait on an alternative form of payment that has all the advantages of a cheque, to be developed, before we ban them Brendan please.
Cheques provide a clear record of payment, date, payee and anything else can be entered in the stub.
They can act as proof of payment where a receipt is not available, or just too awkward to keep.
In the last few days I used cheques twice.
To repay a small amount to a friend. Very awkward one that, if someone says to you "remember that €20 euro I gave you last month". I could never be sure if I had repaid them, I might remember paying or maybe I just planned to pay them. With a cheque the info is all there.
I gave a small amount to a local charity. If I had given that in cash it could easily have gone awol. With a cheque that is much less likely.
Thats just in the space of 10 days, I looked that up in my chequebook.
Of course it would be great if we had a secure traceable recordable and convenient method of electronic payment. Perhaps phone to phone.
But hey Irish banks cannot even clear 19th century cheques in a few days, what chance 21st century technology.
Lets get the new car up and running before we shoot the donkey.