Bank no longer issues cheques

agrinnall

EachPenny wrote: »

"Outdated and creaky" ?

https://www.chequeandcredit.co.uk/cheque-users/businesses/cheque-imaging/about-cheque-imaging

I will pay the cost of processing each cheque I write if you agree to pay the cost (including fraud) of each contactless payment you make... fair?

Or would it be better that the costs of the many different types of transaction continue to be shared out through the system.

Bear in mind that handling cash is one of the most expensive forms of transaction... and when it comes to being 'outdated'...

I used to maintain the cheque clearing system for a major UK bank, the software was over 20 years old then and is well over 30 years old now, the people who wrote it are at the least retired and some of them are dead, the banks have attempted to outsource support for systems of this type to India and China with little success, they don't want to spend any money on it because they know in a few years it'll be money down the drain.

Shakin_Steve

These massive costs incurred processing cheques...I don't appear to have been invoiced yet.

robatwork

agrinnall wrote: »

I used to maintain the cheque clearing system for a major UK bank, the software was over 20 years old then and is well over 30 years old now, the people who wrote it are at the least retired and some of them are dead, the banks have attempted to outsource support for systems of this type to India and China with little success, they don't want to spend any money on it because they know in a few years it'll be money down the drain.

I suspect it's not there any more but 20 years or so ago I sat in BACS in Edgware and watched "clearing" happen. I actually laughed as troops of (mainly middle aged female) staff marched in, sat at long desks, and started sifting through wheelie trollies labelled BARCLAYS, LLOYDS, full of cheques.

I had expected something a bit less manual I suppose, so it's certainly no surprise their software is out of date too.

Here's a news story from 2009

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8414341.stm

The board of the UK Payments Council said there should be "no scenario" for using cheques by 2018.

Expect to hear the same in 2 years about 2028.

POPPYOSCAR

I love my cheque book and my non-contactless cards.

I also like to put cheques in the post to children in the family for birthdays and Christmas.

A note saying I have transferred x amount into your savings account would not be the same.

eskbanker

Shakin_Steve wrote: »

These massive costs incurred processing cheques...I don't appear to have been invoiced yet.

What invoices have you received for PPI claims, bad debt, fraud and all the other substantial overhead costs incurred by banks?

Me neither, but it doesn't mean they don't exist and aren't ultimately passed on by one means or another, even if it's less generous savings rates or incentives rather than higher charges, for example....

EachPenny

robatwork wrote: »

Here's a news story from 2009

The board of the UK Payments Council said there should be "no scenario" for using cheques by 2018.

Expect to hear the same in 2 years about 2028.

That pre-dates the screeching u-turn though, try 2011 -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14632599
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14122129

And it is significant that the u-turn might perhaps have been prompted by calls for the Payments Council itself to be [STRIKE]scrapped[/STRIKE] reformed....

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.

Listening to over 600 stakeholder groups, working with the banks and following our appearance before the Treasury Select Committee, we have concluded we should reassure customers that the cheque is staying. (Payments Council)

Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury Committee, welcomed the Payments Council's decision."At last the Payments Council is concentrating on the right thing: making the existing cheque system faster and cheaper to operate. This will benefit both banks and customers," he said.

After that spanking I think it will be a bit more than 2 years before they think about trying again.

Geoff1963

potentially leaving the club organiser to sift through hundreds of payments (of identical amounts)

I often deliberately make payments different, so I can see where they came from. If I want to pay £50 from each of two current accounts to my credit card account, I'll make one of them £50.01, so I can easily see which one has arrived.

mt99

I have reported this 'ignorant' reply to my post by GingerFurBall - language such as this has no place on this forum

dunstonh

The cheque processing system is actually undergoing changes at the moment. It has largely been unchanged for generations. However, they are going to stop sending the physical cheque and instead resort to scanning and sending the scan electronically rather than the physical cheque.

martinthebandit

mt99 wrote: »

I have reported this 'ignorant' reply to my post by GingerFurBall - language such as this has no place on this forum

I know truthful and honest posts have no place on here, why I bet he/she is a Guardian reader to :money: