MSE News: MPs call for return of cheque guarantee cards 16 November 2011 at 11:55AM in Budgeting & Bank Accounts 65 replies 5.9K views

Former_MSE_Helen

This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:

"MPs are keeping up the pressure after the cards were abandoned in June by the Payments Council ..."

Read the full story:

MPs call for return of cheque guarantee cards

NFH

If people really want to retain this costly and archaic paper-based payment system, then they should pay for it. Impose annual fees on cheque guarantee cards and a fee for each cheque written and deposited, and consumers' habits will quickly migrate to payment methods that are more efficient and less costly.

I haven't needed to write UK cheques for over 15 years, and other countries abolished cheques even longer ago.

grumbler

...due to the risk of shops ... refusing to accept them without knowing whether or not they will bounce

Shops? What's the problem with paying by a debit card instead?

redux

If I hadn't cancelled a previous cheque book renewal, I'd be still using one which would say Halifax Building Society.

It de-mutualised in 1997

4 out of the last 5 cheques (going back about 10 or 12 years) wouldn't be covered by a guarantee card anyway, and the other was to the ex next door neighbour, who knows where to find me.

c-m

Cheques are dead people need to get over it and move on.

If you can use a cheque guarantee card, you can use a debit card.

NFH

redux wrote: »

If I hadn't cancelled a previous cheque book renewal, I'd be still using one which would say Halifax Building Society.

It de-mutualised in 1997

Likewise, the cheques in my "current" Barclays chequebook have a date printed of 11/1994.

billshep

I don't think I've ever used a cheque guarantee card, but cheques are still useful.
Since the advent of internet banking and utilities encouraging Direct Debit I use cheques a lot less. However they are still useful for making payments to small businesses/one man bands who can't justify the expenses of card machines or if you need to pay them through the post. Many people are still reluctant to hand out their bank details to allow you to send an online payment, and to make an online payment you need to have a secure internet connection, which is not always the case if you are away from home.

Rupert_Bear

OMG. Just when I thought we were moving on we will now have to put our life back on hold while some customers fiddle in their belongings looking for their cheque book and card at the till. Write out the cheque and have to fill out the cheque stub at the same time. People get with it!!

tagq2

NFH wrote: »

If people really want to retain this costly and archaic paper-based payment system, then they should pay for it.

Most cheques are written to people with other than personal accounts and the account holders will have to pay for cheque deposit. This will be reflected in higher item prices. As for everyone else...

Impose annual fees on cheque guarantee cards and a fee for each cheque written and deposited, and consumers' habits will quickly migrate to payment methods that are more efficient and less costly.

For payment to people or groups without card processing facilities, i.e. bank transfer, you only have to enter one number incorrectly once on a large electronic payment to cancel out all the money you've saved from not paying a realistic chequebook fee. The Bank Account board right here gives an example every so often.

If banks actually had checksumming on the sort code+account number combination, or did some at least fuzzy check of the account holder name, or even gave a well-defined window in which FPs could be reversed, they might approach the consumer friendliness of cheques. Top this with the ability to confirm any direct debit set up on your account so someone with your account details can't immediately abuse it.

Oh, and that paper trail comes in handy when someone messes up. UK cheque fraud's very low, too: faking real stuff is harder than just recording and replaying the right keys where you shouldn't.

Cheques are slow. But they work. And although everyone insists that his life is so important and hectic that everything has to be done yesterday, sometimes it's worth waiting for what works.

/midweek rant :rotfl:

NFH

billshep wrote: »

However they are still useful for making payments to small businesses/one man bands who can't justify the expenses of card machines or if you need to pay them through the post. Many people are still reluctant to hand out their bank details to allow you to send an online payment

Whenever one-man-band tradesmen visit my house, I always ask for their bank details so that I can pay them immediately by FPS using online banking. Some tradesmen are used to this and know their bank details off the top of their heads, whereas others have to go back out to their van etc. In either case, they are always delighted to have the money cleared into their account immediately. I always show them the online banking screen and ask them to confirm the account details are correct, and this also proves to them that the payment has been made.

grumbler

NFH wrote: »

Whenever one-man-band tradesmen visit my house, I always ask for their bank details so that I can pay them immediately by FPS using online banking. Some tradesmen are used to this and know their bank details off the top of their heads, whereas others have to go back out to their van etc. In either case, they are always delighted to have the money cleared into their account immediately. I always show them the online banking screen and ask them to confirm the account details are correct, and this also proves to them that the payment has been made.

Personally, I don't see any problems with doing the same, but I am sure that many people will, including my wife. This cannot be considered as a universal payment method.