Cheque out

Those oversized championship or prize cheques triumphantly flanked by winners for photo-ops as well as its humbler banknote-sized avatar may soon be a thing of the past, if Britain has any say in the matter.

While nothing can convey the impression of elegant affluence as aptly as the signing of a cheque with an expensive fountain pen, evidence suggests its popularity has been waning.

So, bankers on a panel of Britain’s payments council are expected to vote next month on a recommendation to the government to abolish cheques and, instead, focus on more economical modes such as electronic transfers and cash cards.

Already, as leading retailers gave a thumbs down to cheques, from July 2011, cheque payments will no longer be guaranteed in the UK though people can still write them and businesses can accept them. It does cost more to process them, since cheques have been around for three centuries, they cannot be phased out by 2018 without a battle or two.

The move has already been attacked on the grounds that a significant number of people are more comfortable with cheques than with electronic options, and many agencies like pension funds and income-tax departments use them too.

While reducing payment options may cut down cases of fraud, they raise questions of safety, given theft of credit cards and hacking into online accounts. In India, of course, the crackdown on cheques has already begun, albeit in a far less publicised, and organised, way.

Chequebooks are simply becoming more difficult to obtain, with many banks often pleading unavailability. This, despite the fact that a plethora of transactions are still conducted via cheques. Till electronic methods become more accessible, reliable and easy to use for Indian consumers, chequebooks are unlikely to be signed off on just yet.

Besides, we have to think of an alternative to oversized cheques for photo-ops first.