Cheques - until recently facing the threat of abolition - should be improved, according to MPs. The "delays and uncertainty" that affect cheque payments should be reduced, said a Treasury Committee report. In July, the Payments Council, which oversees strategy, withdrew plans to phase out chequebooks by 2018.

Now the MPs have called for the council itself to be overhauled, and a rethink on the end of cheque guarantee cards. "The Payments Council is an industry-dominated body with no effective public accountability," said committee chairman Andrew Tyrie. "It should not have unfettered power to take decisions on matters, such as the future of cheques, or other issues, that are of vital importance to millions of people."

But Gary Hocking, acting chief executive of the council, said the group did not believe extra regulation was needed, although a review on how it was governed had already been planned before the end of the year.
'Stealth' In December 2009, the Payments Council set the target date of 2018 for the phasing out of cheques. It was planning to make a final decision in 2016, but in July this year it ruled out the abolition following a public backlash, a campaign from charities and a...