Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Someone mentioned this to me today - first Id heard of it, and I couldnt find any previous topic.

A search of the BBC found this > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8414341.stm

This seems a very bad idea to me - I may not use cheques often, but I do still use them (like this week for some work on my garden) there is no way I'd have the amount in cash, and why should I (or they) pay 2.5% or whatever in Credit Card fees.

Do we really want to be giving each other our bank account details for direct transfers ?

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Apparently cheques will only 'cease to be' if a suitable alternative is in place:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11937641

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

I'm annoyed about it as well but the places we can still use a cheque are gradually dwindling as it is.

They are also useful for sending through the post.We aren't all online(my ma-in-law for one at 96) and so transferring money to another for single payments can be a problem.Yes there are gift tokens but we don't all have those to hand unlike a cheque book.

I'm wondering for whose benefit it really is as I'm pretty sure it's not for the customer.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

It makes sense really.

If fewer and fewer people are using them then the cost per transaction will rise and rise.

Better to introduce a cheaper alternative than you end up paying a fee for their use...

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

The ones that are printed on the bottom of every cheque in magnetic ink Paul?

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

cheque ,credit/debit card or cash what other alternative can there be for daily use ?

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Direct transfer - doable online, over the phone or in branch. It's like a cheque without the paper and money is in the recipient's account in 2 hours.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

We will all have to get one of these installed by the front door and fitted in our vans.

http://www.cardsave.net/card-machines

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

A cheaper alternative? Well then I reckon cheques are safe for a lot longer because I cannot see what could be a cheaper system.There surely has to be some central system set up to facilitate any paper /card transaction and this will still 'cost' to run.

I know Postal Orders..where the user has to pay a certain percentage extra to pay for the service..pity the Post Office is being sold.

---------- Post added at 23:23 ---------- Previous post was at 23:22 ----------

My 96 year old M-in-law won't be interested in that...

---------- Post added at 23:24 ---------- Previous post was at 23:23 ----------

Ma will throw one of those at me..:D

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

From the link in my earlier post:


Anyway, who uses cheques on a daily basis nowadays?

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

I'm sure there's a lot of things she isn't interested in, unfortunately things change.

I suspect she'd be more interested in them if our banks began to charge for cheques, this is pretty commonplace.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

I use that myself sometimes ,not as convenient as a cheque but certainly an option for some .I have no doubt that cheques will become redundant and i have no problem using a debit card as a replacement it's the older generation that will be inconvenienced but that will sort itself out naturally,i haven't written a cheque for about 4 years there is no need for them as there is nearly always the option to pay by debit card ,the charges for using it need to be abolished though

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

I don't see the problem really. They will probably be phased out, with a charge being levied at some point. Traders can carry mobile chip & pin devices, so you can pay by Debit Card, which won't incur stupid charges. Traders will have to buy the handset, but it'll have advantages for them as well. Cheques aren't a safe way of payment for traders anyway. I can write a cheque for work done to my garden and be on the phone to the bank to cancel it before the trader has left my driveway.

Some traders might want to insist on cash, but some do now anyway. In fact, I just had a shed built, and cash was the only option.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

http://www.ukpayments.org.uk/media_c...es/-/page/719/

Slightly related but the the cheques guarantee system seems to be coming to an end

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Well that can be said of any system.

---------- Post added at 01:20 ---------- Previous post was at 01:07 ----------

Well it would be like using a Postal Order then, except you don't actually have to visit an outlet to purchase the form..as for going online well she's adamant she's not wanting to be 'learning new tricks'.Poor eyesight,arthritis in her hands makes using a phone or a computer keyboard a problem..
Frankly if people want to use cheques and are prepared to pay the 'costs' for the sake of convenience why not?Who the hell is it hurting?:shrug:

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Get rid of them.

If someone hands me a cheque they take too long to clear in to my account or if I pay by cheque I'm never sure when the movie is actually in without checking.

It's old and dated.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

It's hurting the trees / environment... No cheques = a huge reduction of trees being ripped from mother-earth.

Altogether now...

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

I use cheques to pay my credit card every month.

They are only several options (pros in Blue Cons in Red)

1. postal orders -
Don't need a bank account.

A cost involed, have to go to a post office

2. Have a card reader at home to make payments by debit/credit cards -
You can control the kit

Security
Cost involed in kit
Personal info risk

Proberly more but I have brain freeze

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

I like cheques. I guess I will work out how to give monetary gifts without them but Postal Orders don't have the same "feel". I am going to a Wedding next Saturday and we are all giving money, Cash seems naff and a PO doesn't have the personal touch that our name on the Cheque will have.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

At the most I write 4/5 cheques a year besides which that doesn't really worry me as paper and trees are a renewable and a recyclable resource unlike the oil used to produce the plastic used in debit and credit cards and the computer and keyboard I'm presently using..:p:

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Some dinosaur institutions will only accept cheques (Disabled Blue Badge department in our area for example).

They'll have to be dragged screaming and kicking into the 21st century before cheques die out.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

A couple of weeks ago my debit card details were used to fraudulently remove £500 from my account (my card was under my right buttock at the time). As soon as I informed my bank, they cancelled the card, so for a week the only way I could access my money was by using my chequebook.

Fortunately I had a "back-up" plan (raiding my wife's handbag at regular intervals), but apart from using these "old-fashioned" methods what choice did I have?

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Sell (rent) your body?

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

When I had to stop my debit card my bank gave me the option ofcollecting some cash from a local branch to tide me over.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

you can go into your bank and take cash out without your card as long as you have appropriate id

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

It's a lot of faffing about..much easier to get your cheque book out and pay someone straight off.;)

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

assuming they don't want a guarantee card to go with it ,lets face it hardly anywhere takes cheques anymore even with a card, petrol stations ,supermarkets practically no-one takes them anymore

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

And when you ask why they say it's because of cost.Well If I'm prepared to pay the cost to use a cheque why not?If I take the hit so I have the choice why not?

I'm just asking for whose benefit is it to be getting rid of cheques.Because I don't think it's for mine but the banks overall.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

well of course it is ,why bother to keep an expensive system that is hardly used anymore in place for a hand full of people stuck in the past and lets face it chq fraud is a lot easier than card fraud ,another reason to get rid

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Sorry, I forgot to add a rolling eyes smiley and a wink to the end of my post. :p: ;)

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

So far I've not been a victim of cheque fraud in the 40 odd years of having a bank account.:erm:
However I've twice been the victim of debit card fraud.:(

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

there was a thriving industry in chq fraud untill shops stopped taking them
never been a victim of card fraud myself ,lucky or carefull?

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Problem is it isnt straight off. It takes up to 4 days so your money hasnt gone out straight away.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

In fairness some debit card transactions take the same time


no idea why that is ,perhaps someone can clue me up

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Online introduces the various security problems inherant in online banking, not to mention the need to have access to at least one device with internet access. This is not always practical.

Transfer via telephone potentially introduces the problem that the line between your phone and the bank is not secure, and if dealing with a call centre, you can't be entirely sure that the staff have been through the same security checks the branch staff should have been.

In branch is not always an option simply because you may not be able to access a branch in working hours, or you may not have time to queue up (queues at my local Nationwide generally reach a 40 minute wait time within 15 minutes of lunch hour starting).

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Its not always in 2 hours, some of mine still take a day. :)

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

its an ancient method of payment and I am surprised its taking so long to ditch them.

my main gripe with cheques is that they very slow to clear which adds inconveniance and too much oppurtunity to rip people off, its all too common to write out cheques knowing will bounce.

---------- Post added at 22:55 ---------- Previous post was at 22:54 ----------

card fraud exists but personally I have only suffered from it once and that was online. I never found out the reason of how it happened, the bank refunded me but never got back to me after.

---------- Post added at 23:00 ---------- Previous post was at 22:55 ----------

its expensive for the banks when you consider cheque guaruantuee cards as well. They have to honour the payment even if the payer doesnt have the money, it then becomes debt they have to chase down.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

in japan I believe they have been using payment-enabled mobile phones for some years. this is quite obviously a viable option, and as most people out and about these days have a mobile phone, it makes sense and would be very handy.

alternatively, ensure businesses who receive payments are card-payment equipped. they have 7 years to sort themselves out! should be long enough.

let's be honest - cheques are dated and have quite an overhead in terms of man time when compared to alternative methods currently available that are far easier and quicker (I'm talking about time taken to design, manufacture, fill in, post / pay in, enter into a system in the bank, yada yada). things change, move on.

sometimes we need someone to make the decision to stop using this, that or the other, other wise we would be sat in a position whereby we say "it's comfy like this" and we would never progress. Man didn't get to the Moon, invent the combustion engine or learn the art of flight because he sat on his hands saying "what we have will do - why look at something different?". We did it because it's progression. I don't think people should see this as removing something 'comfortable' as much as it is giving the opportunity for something better to be given a place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z1DidldxUo

peace out

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Handy for when it's not needed urgently though.;)

---------- Post added at 23:35 ---------- Previous post was at 23:32 ----------

A cheque of mine bounces the bank bites my bum about it big time..and they get a huge chunk of money as well.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

What?

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Oh for heavens sakes it's only paper..the problem is that everyone wants to make something simple MORE complicated.

I can see us doing away with all cash at this rate..after all coins and paper money are a sort of cheque,a promise to hand over the value of the coin or note.It's simple and relatively uncomplicated.So are cheques.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Don't get me wrong, I tend to use cards rather than cheques. However, cheques are handy for paying someone money where cards aren't.

1) Not all businesses accept cards. Admittedly, in my experience, they tend not to accept cheques either though.

2) Cheques are handy if you need to send someone money and you don't have time to buy a postal order. In these cases, the person concerned probably won't have a credit card processing machine.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

1) which is why I said to ensure businesses get themselves card-payment ready. They have 7 years to buy a POS

2) true, but making a payment online is very easy and very quick. I know some will say "but not everyone is online". Well again, true, but they still built roads even though not everyone had a new-fangled horseless carriage!!!

Things change. One way or another, you have to deal with it regardless of the excuses or perceived personal inconveniences. I don't like the fact I now have to pay £20 for an updated photo driving license every 10 years, but that's just the way it is. The DVLA were never going to keep paper only licenses forever!

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Roads were built for people to walk on..long before horse and carriages.The Romans prided themselves on how quickly a Legion could travel on foot because of the roads they built.

Yes we must embrace technology but sometimes what is being replaced by technology works just as well.

I know I sound like a Luddite but ALL I'm suggesting is that sometimes we are too much in a hurry to chase the more complicated for the sake of it.;)

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Actually I know of a few businesses who did have the card terminals, but stopped using them either because of the processing costs involved, or because they are vulnerable to fraud.

Interesting that you bring up the example of roads, because while they have been built, people still have the option of using vehicles that are not motorised on them, or even walking.

Shutting down the cheque processing system will stop people being able to use cheques.

Anyway, I was making the point that the new methods are not always as conveniant as they appear.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Same wrote loads of cheques zero fraud used credit card less had £1,000 fraud and I am careful where I use it but it seemed a scimmer was used at a prominent shop. Wont name it.

Basically its one of those card readers that dont look any different from orig and works how it should but has hidden system.

If I remember there was a birmingham company raided and had litterally thousands of these. Even acted as proper company but was run by crooks.

As for wifi portable versions its well known been shown on numerious programs that with no more than laptop with software can scim the pin and card details of portable devices upto many yards away.

Do we want our local milkman coming with portable to pay our bill.

Nope give me a chequebook why CANT WE DECIDE how to pay.

Meddling in system again we was told chip and pin was safe is it hell. No doubt any replacement will be infinate more fraudalent especially if its electronic.

Banks should follow simple rule if man makes man can disasemble/work around it.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

chip and pin is inhenrintly insecure due to the weak limitations set however I have little doubt its more secure than cheques, as to do fraud on cheques is very easy just need to forge signature.

I will ask my sister if she gets hit by bank for what she does (writes dodgy cheques to keep people of her back)

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

To be fair it does sound like its all to save the banks from cheque bouncing rather something to aid peoples security. I wonder if this is common abuse of cheque writing.

Never used it to write a cheque with view money will be in the bank later and I believe you can be done for fraudalently writing a cheque knowing funds are not present.

Although it can indeed be problem with fraud I am sure its down to lazy people not writing cheques properly so it cant be altered. ie making 100 look like 1000.

I always made sure its written with lines filling gaps so its impossible to tamper. I never trust people and always make sure it cant be tampered. I wonder how many make the cheques easy to tamper.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

You don't even need to forge it very well as banks check very few of them...

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

I have a paper [only] licence. ;)

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

So do I. if anyone opens it up to look at and breaks it. they can buy me a new one.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

but when it expires or you need to change details on it, you will have to get a photo ID license. apparently, the DVLA now destroy paper only licenses when they get them and they don't need to inform you they are doing it.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

1998 i believe they stopped issuing them ,due to a EU directive

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

Well, since it doesnt expire until about 2027, and Im not planning on moving anytime soon, then I'm ok for a while yet. :) Anyway, back to cheques .....

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

I just for once would like to be the one to make the choice, not to have the choice made for me as is so often the way with banks.

Re: Cheques to disappear in 2018
 

they have been dwindling for ages. I have written one cheque in almost 2 years and that was last month to the DVLA for a renewel of my Photo Licence.