Good News For Ni Cheque Users
Thursday 14 July 2011
The Consumer Council has welcomed news that the Payments Council has scrapped its plans to phase out cheques by 2018 . The Consumer Council said the announcement would come as good news to the two in five consumers here who use cheques annually .
The ongoing consultation into the possible closure of cheque clearing systems has now been cancelled. The Consumer Council has represented Northern Ireland (NI) consumers on the Payments Council Forum for over two years and in April held a regional forum[1] which included local organisations representing older people, those with disabilities, charities, banks and business sector to make sure the voice of local consumers was heard in this consultation.
Maeve Holly, Senior Consumer Affairs Officer at the Consumer Council said: “The Consumer Council is delighted that cheques will no longer be phased out by 2018. We received assurances from the Payments Council that the cheque clearing system would only be closed if there was evidence that NI consumers had adopted and were willing to use, alternative payment methods. The Payments Council listened to what consumers here thought about the phasing out of cheques, the difficulties that may be involved and their fears about reverting to using cash only”.
“This announcement will be welcome news for the many consumers here who still use cheques on a regular basis to pay bills by post, pay a tradesman, make a donation to charity or pay school fees. In particular older people and those who are housebound rely on cheques to manage their finances[2]”.
“The Consumer Council will continue to work with the Payments Council and financial institutions here to ensure the development of new and innovative payment methods meet consumers’ needs.”
Notes to Editors:
- The Payments Council have said that a new type of paper based payment to replace the cheque will no longer be investigated or implemented.
- As of 30 June 2011 the cheque guarantee scheme is no longer in existence[3] but consumers are still able to write cheques and businesses can still accept them.
- Consumer Council media contact: Gráinne Magennis, telephone, 028 9067 4813 or 079 2018 7308 or e-mail, gmagennis@consumercouncil.org.uk
- The Consumer Council is an independent consumer organisation, working to bring about change to benefit Northern Ireland’s consumers. The Council campaigns for high standards of service and protection and a fair deal for all. It also carries out research, gives advice and publishes reports and other publications. It deals with individual complaints about buses, trains, planes, ferries, natural gas, electricity, coal and water.
- For more information, visit our website at www.consumercouncil.org.uk
