Cheque guarantee card scheme given closure date
In June this year it was announced that a planned end date for the Cheque Guarantee Card Scheme was to be set. Last week, the 24 bank and building society members of the UK Domestic Cheque Guarantee Card Scheme announced an official end date of 30th June 2011. This means it will no longer be possible to guarantee a cheque under the Scheme after this date.
Given that cheque usage is experiencing severe decline -figures showing that cheque volumes have dropped by 27% in the last 12 months alone-- the Payments Council took the decision to end the Guarantee Scheme earlier this year and has now committed to a definite end date. This announcement does not, however, mean the end of all cheques as businesses and customers will still be able to write and receive them.
The announcement also comes as the country takes another step towards more efficient and modern payment methods, such as electronic funds transfers.
The Guarantee Scheme was established over 40 years ago, a time when cheques formed the backbone of the UK payments infrastructure. The number of guaranteed cheques written over the last 5 years has dropped 70%, a primary cause being that major retailers such as supermarkets, petrol stations and many others now do not accept cheques as a payment method.
Jacqui Tribe, Manager of the UK Domestic Cheque Guarantee Card Scheme says: "Now an industry-wide date has been set, we can look to support customers through the change by providing information on what this will mean. The alternative was to let the Scheme wither on the vine - which was more likely to have led to confusion, mixed messages and potentially exposing more customers to the risk of fraud."
The Scheme has published two fact sheets, available from www.ukpayments.org.uk, to help consumers with any questions or issues they may have.
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