It was recently announced that cheque books are to be phased out by October 2018 . This decision has been made by the so-called Payments Council, without any democratic recourse whatsoever, to 'we' the consumer.
There is little doubt these proposals, if implemented will hit pensioners and local small businesses particularly badly.
As Steve Alambritis, the Head of the Federation of Small Businesses has stated:
"This is driven by the big banks who will save £1 billion".
While many people rely on credit and debit cards and online banking to pay their bills, there are still millions of people - and thousands in Harlow constituency - who would be lost without their cheque book. And that includes myself.
What are pensioners expected to do if this goes ahead? The Government has already overseen the closure of numerous post offices in rural communities so there are now far fewer places where pensioners can go to close to their homes to withdraw their money.
Many people do not do internet banking and so need cheques to pay their bills. This decision could force some individuals to withdraw cash and keep it in a safe place at home, which could then spark an increase in opportunist thieves who will target the elderly who they think have money stashed away. Small businesses too rely on cheques to pay some of their suppliers.
The final word goes to Harlow Councillor Simon Carter, a former bank manager for many years:
"What about the impact on charities and churches that rely on occasional and spontaneous donations by cheque in response to appeals and raffles tickets? And then there are birthday and Christmas presents from grandparents to grand children? The list is endless. Damned banks – wouldn't have happened in my day!"
I couldn't agree more.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Why stop there? Bring back telegrams, beef tea, the Home Service, Ceefax, and National Service while we're at it.
ReplyDeleteIt should be a requirement of a retail banking licence that the institution should offer cheques and cheque clearance without fees.
ReplyDeleteI have always been sentimental about my UK chequebook so when I opened a Belgian bank account 10 years ago I was surprised they had no cheques. However I soon got used to the Belgian system of paying everything online by electronic direct transfer with bills coming with unique reference codes attached, so I never had to go to the bank or need cheques again. In shops you pay by EFTPOS and the sytem works surprisingly well. I believe they still use bankers drafts for large sums. So if Robert (who I normally agree with on most things) wants to save the cheque fine but it should be on the basis that cheque users are charged for at full clearance costs so those of us prepared to go paperless do not subsidise the traditionalists!
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