The Payments Council, which represents banks and payments groups, will announce this afternoon that plans to scrap cheques have been dropped.

Charities, small business and campaigners had been outraged at plans end cheque clearing from 31 October 2018. Pressure will now be on high street shops which had stopped accepting cheques as 2018 approached to start honouring them again.

The news comes weeks after Mark Hoban, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said cheques could not be scrapped until “a suitable alternative is found”.

In a letter to Andrew Tyrie MP, the chairman of the Treasury select committee, he said: “Until this is demonstrated, I do not believe that there is a credible and coherent case for abolishing cheques.”

Ministers would “intervene… if there is any threat that cheques may be withdrawn without suitable alternatives being put in place at all”, he said.

Last year, 620million payments were made by cheque, compared with 6.29billion by debit card, and 1.88billion by credit card.
Cheque use is.....Read more on this story: Cheques will not be axed - Telegraph

Previous FORUM News headlines 6th May: allaboutFORUMS - View Single Post - Latest Headline News (Media)