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Cheques not be scrapped after all, banks say
The banking industry will not scrap the use of cheques after all, it has been announced.
The Payments Council, a banking industry body, had been planning to replace them by 2018.
However, after widespread criticism from MPs and charities, it has now decided they will be kept "as long as customers need them".
The Payments Council admitted it had been forced to change its mind by the weight of public opinion.
Richard North, the chairman of the Payments Council, which had hoped to develop a "paper-based" alternative to cheques, said: "It's in the DNA of the Payments Council to consult and listen to all those people who actually make payments and use cheques."
"Listening to over 600 stakeholder groups, working with the banks and following our appearance before the Treasury Select Committee, we have concluded we should reassure customers that the cheque is staying."
Because the cheque is continuing, there is no need for a new type of paper-initiated payment”
End Quote Payments Council
"Scrapping cheques would have had serious ramifications, not only for the elderly and most vulnerable in society, but also for small businesses and charities that rely on this payment method," the society said.
The industry's search for a "paper-based" alternative to cheques, which was only revealed last year, has also been cancelled.
"All work to prepare for closing cheque clearing in 2018 has stopped," the Payments Council said.
"Because the cheque is continuing, there is no need for a new type of paper-initiated payment," it added.
Criticism of the industry plan reached a peak this year, with a hostile reception for the idea given by the Parliamentary Treasury Committee of MPs in April, and severe criticism from Mark Hoban, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, in June.
He said there was no "credible and coherent case" for the abolition of cheques before an alternative had been fully tested.
BBC News - Cheques not be scrapped after all, banks say
The banking industry will not scrap the use of cheques after all, it has been announced.
The Payments Council, a banking industry body, had been planning to replace them by 2018.
However, after widespread criticism from MPs and charities, it has now decided they will be kept "as long as customers need them".
The Payments Council admitted it had been forced to change its mind by the weight of public opinion.
Richard North, the chairman of the Payments Council, which had hoped to develop a "paper-based" alternative to cheques, said: "It's in the DNA of the Payments Council to consult and listen to all those people who actually make payments and use cheques."
"Listening to over 600 stakeholder groups, working with the banks and following our appearance before the Treasury Select Committee, we have concluded we should reassure customers that the cheque is staying."
Because the cheque is continuing, there is no need for a new type of paper-initiated payment”
End Quote Payments Council
"Scrapping cheques would have had serious ramifications, not only for the elderly and most vulnerable in society, but also for small businesses and charities that rely on this payment method," the society said.
The industry's search for a "paper-based" alternative to cheques, which was only revealed last year, has also been cancelled.
"All work to prepare for closing cheque clearing in 2018 has stopped," the Payments Council said.
"Because the cheque is continuing, there is no need for a new type of paper-initiated payment," it added.
Criticism of the industry plan reached a peak this year, with a hostile reception for the idea given by the Parliamentary Treasury Committee of MPs in April, and severe criticism from Mark Hoban, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, in June.
He said there was no "credible and coherent case" for the abolition of cheques before an alternative had been fully tested.
BBC News - Cheques not be scrapped after all, banks say
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