Cheque usage in decline

There has been a fall in the number of people using cheques, whereas debit card spending has experienced a rise over the past few months.

This is according to new figures from the Payments Council, showing that between the second quarter of 2009 and the same period of this year, 290,000 fewer cheques have been issued.

Debit card usage, however, increased by £7.9 million over the course of the year, although the amount withdrawn from cash machines fell.

Credit card spending increased slightly by 3.9% year-on-year, which the group believes is due to the restricted access to finance and migration over to debit cards.

Director of Communications Sandra Quinn said: "We use cash less where there is an easy alternative, but we're years away from cash falling out of fashion."

A recent uSwitch.com survey found that 4% of people still pay their phone bills by either cash or cheque, while 87% use direct debit.

Posted by Martin Ellis