Setting:

Last week, UK’s Payments Council has decreed that Cheques will be phased out by October 31^st 2018 as cheques are in long term terminal decline. The Council has decided the time is ripe for the economy as a whole to reap the benefits of its replacement. However, small businesses, charities, individuals, elderly and disabled are not in favour of this announcement as they will still need to use a cheque. The Council has undertaken to work over the next nine years to promote and explain alternatives.

In Britain cheque use peaked in 1990, when an average of 10.9 million cheques were issued per day in 1990. By 2008 there were just 3.8 million a day. Cheques are very infrequently used in countries such as Sweden and Norway and their use is under review in Ireland, South Africa and Australia.

Reasoning:

Cheque usage has been falling by around 10% a year as debit cards gain ascendancy.

Solution:

One may consider replacing paper cheques by eChecks. These eChecks are designed to accommodate needs of individuals and entities that might prefer to settle transactions through a mechanism other than cash.

Some salient features of eChekcs are:

- They are issued in electronic format

- The format is provided by the bank

-They are numbered appropriately to identify, bank, branch and account number

- The numbering can be alphanumerical too

- They will be uniquely authenticated by the account holders with their digital signature; even biometrics authorization can be accepted

- They will be dated as at present (pre dated, current dated and post dated)

- eChecks can be stopped for payment before actual payment as at present

- eChecks can be made user friendly in internet banking as well as mobile banking

-Records can be maintained by the banks of all such eChecks handled by the banks

The financial technology is there to take care and meet the requirements of these changing times.

Do you have any worries?