Can the cheque be saved?

surfsister

Just thinking about cheques and how people will manage without them and if they can be saved?? doubt it who are we just customers!!

How will we pay tradesman eg washine machine repair people? I usualy give them a cheque.

How will granparents give birthday gifts to kids as cash can't be put in the post anymore.

How will people pay for things by post if they don't bank online or have a credit card?

Won't it increase fraud if all transactions are to made by plastic?

Just a few thoughts of mine!

daveyjp

I had a locksmith round last week. When he finished I came to pay. He took out his 3G connected Visa machine and I paid there and then.

This company was a two man outfit not some huge corporation and they have found a way to avoid cheques completely. He said they prefer not to take cheques anymore and it is hardly ever an issue as most people have a card.

opinions4u

surfsister wrote: »

Just thinking about cheques and how people will manage without them and if they can be saved?? doubt it who are we just customers!!

I don't draw cheques. I have drawn one cheque in three years.

How will we pay tradesman eg washine machine repair people? I usualy give them a cheque.

Cash, plastic card etc. The small trader can often accept cards and this will continue to grow as cheques become used less and less.

How will granparents give birthday gifts to kids as cash can't be put in the post anymore.

Mobile phone top up cards. Direct credit to bank account. Gift voucher. eCodes. Perhaps the idea of ordering a real present with free delivery from a retailer like Amazon could be a good idea too! Better than lazy cash.

How will people pay for things by post if they don't bank online or have a credit card?

Write their debit card details on a payment form?

Won't it increase fraud if all transactions are to made by plastic?

It may increase plastic fraud. It will certainly reduce cheque fraud. Broad as it's long.

Just a few thoughts of mine!

The cheque has been dying for 20 years. They've booked the funeral. It's still many years off though.

Hazzanet

Hmm, part of me feels a warm fuzzy feeling deep inside when I issue a cheque, but I'm resigned to the fact that they are not a particularly efficient way of making a payment and will eventually die out. The only reason I write them now is to top up a postal savings account, where after enquiring, I was told that they would not accept BACS transfers in.

There are better ways of paying than cheque, however I agree that the demise of them is still a little way off.

karatedragon

I am a right Luddite and still use cheques where ever I can and will continue to do so until they are withdrawn.

LeeSouthEast

I've written precisely 1 cheque in the last 5 years.. and that was to open an ING account. It was so backward I had to order a whole chequebook just to write it as I'd long since shredded the previous one.

Dollardog

When cheques go, it will affect my business. I trade at events up and down the country during the Summer. I don't have card facilities because I would have to have a more expensive bank account and have to pay a fee all year round for the card facility even when I am not using it in Winter.
We still take cheques and even trust people to send us one if they haven't got enough money on them at the time to buy and haven't got their cheque book on them.

mjm3346

karatedragon wrote: »

I am a right Luddite and still use cheques where ever I can and will continue to do so until they are withdrawn.

What major store is left that still accepts them?

The last one I wrote must have been over 2 years ago and that had been the first one for a long time (after it was posted I phoned up and asked the payee to watch out for it as I couldn't remember if I had signed it or not).

I no longer have a cheque book so had to get a postal order about six months ago, wasn't sure if they still did them as it must be over 30 years since I last used one, but they do and now they print the payee details on them as well if you want. Wonder if they will go out when the cheques do?

michael1983l

I don't understand the resistance to the abolishment of cheques, surely as a retailer is is much better to have a transaction that has already been authorised when handing out goods/services than a piece of paper that is yet to be authorised by the issuing bank. As for people complaining about wanting to keep paying by cheque, exactly what benefit does it give you over paying by card or cash exactly. If all retailers were forced to find a way to accept alternative payments then you have no problem.

Going back to dollardog, why don't you get yourself a laptop, a 3g Dongle and let people pay on the spot via paypal, you can set it up so they don't even need an account to pay you. Then you don't need to upgrade your paypal account, although you will have to pay paypal fee's, but if you want buisness get with the times man.

surfsister

michael1983l wrote: »

I don't understand the resistance to the abolishment of cheques, surely as a retailer is is much better to have a transaction that has already been authorised when handing out goods/services than a piece of paper that is yet to be authorised by the issuing bank. As for people complaining about wanting to keep paying by cheque, exactly what benefit does it give you over paying by card or cash exactly. If all retailers were forced to find a way to accept alternative payments then you have no problem.

Going back to dollardog, why don't you get yourself a laptop, a 3g Dongle and let people pay on the spot via paypal, you can set it up so they don't even need an account to pay you. Then you don't need to upgrade your paypal account, although you will have to pay paypal fee's, but if you want buisness get with the times man.

A lot of people don't trust online payments after being defrauded. I went to a seminar about computers yesterday and out of 10 people 2 had lost money from their bank accounts though online banking.

I appreciate everyones comments but ordinary people won't have these hand held payment machines or paypal and will have to deal in cash for gifts etc. Some won't trust online payements, some won't have computers and some post cheques to pay for bills. I believe other EEC countries have cheques or do they? and if so why is british banking different? I think it is purely to save the banks money as it's cheaper to process online payments.

Think the end of the cheque is a mistake. When are death knells sounding?

rb10

surfsister wrote: »

I went to a seminar about computers yesterday and out of 10 people 2 had lost money from their bank accounts though online banking.

I do not believe that to be true.

There is no way that 20% of people have lost money through online banking. The banks' internet banking sites are very secure, and it is very rare to find someone who has actually suffered fraud through online banking.

Maybe 20% of people have been a victim of fraudulent transactions, which they (either correctly or, more likely, incorrectly) attributed to using their card online.

But of those two people, did either actually lose their money? Or did the bank pay it straight back?

Yes, there are many people who are wary of using their cards online. But it's completely illogical. It is not (in the vast majority of cases) through any knowledge, it's through irrational fear.