Check Writing Down, Debit Card Swiping Up In Britain
London, England, United Kingdom (AHN) – More Britons are catching up with technology when it comes to paying their bills or purchases. They are writing fewer checks and swiping their debit cards more often.
According to the Payments Council of Britain, for the second quarter of 2010 check issuance went down by 10 percent, while debit card usage grew by 12.4 percent. That translates into 290,000 fewer checks written each day from April to June.
The increasing reliance on debit cards also resulted in cash withdrawals going down by 3.2 percent and credit card purchases going up by a mere 3.9 percent.
Sandra Quinn, director of communication of the Payments Councils said that while Britons are using less of cash when there is an alternative, bills and coins would remain in use for a long time.
The decline in use of checks, which has gone down at 12 percent yearly, is partly because many merchants and retailers no longer accept checks. Because of these developments, the Payments Council Board decided in December 2009 to close the central check clearing facility by Oct. 31, 2018.
The council explained in a statement, “The Payments Council believes that a managed decline is in users’ best interests as it offers a clear plan for bringing alternatives on stream and provides clarity and certainty to those organizations that process large volumes of checks. The alternative of leaving it to market forces risks increasing confusion among users, and increasing disadvantage for those who remain dependent upon checks and are least equipped to change.”
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