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Which? shows that cheque payment is still preferred by consumers

A survey by the Which? consumer group suggests that many people still like the option of paying by cheque

Although 72% of those included in the survey agreed that they use cheques less frequently than 5 years ago, paying by cheque was still described as "very useful" by almost 6 out of 10 consumers. These results come as more retailers are moving towards a ban on cheques as a method of payment. Cheques have not been accepted at Shell petrol forecourts since 2005, while more recently Boots have also stopped the use of cheques at their stores on the high street. Tesco and Asda are currently testing customer reaction to the idea by running pilot schemes.

The number of cheques written daily fell by half in the 15 years from 1990 to 2005, according to figures from banking sources. However, the use of debit and credit cards is on the increase.

Payment by cheque is still an important option according to Business groups. The Federation of Small Businesses has said that many of its members still use cheques and should be allowed to continue with this method if they wish. However, the organisation also expects the use of cheques to gradually decline over time.