When questioned about attitudes to cheque usage, GB adults seem to agree with recent decisions by a growing list of retailers which to date has included Boots(2) and Tesco(3) to move away from the traditional payment method. The survey revealed 61% of GB adults do not use cheques to pay for their regular monthly commitments, 83% prefer the convenience of receiving payments directly into their accounts rather than by cheque and that over the last 10 years, cheque usage for the payment of bills has declined across virtually all regular household and individual commitments(4).

The statistics echo the rationale adopted by retailers that very few purchases are now made by cheque, in some cases only two in every 1,000(5). Seemingly, today’s increasingly busy lifestyles are responsible as consumers prefer the convenience of automated payments such as Direct Debit. In fact, three in four British adults use Direct Debit for regular bills(6).

The figures were produced as part of the Consumer Payments Survey (CPS), an annual survey sponsored by Bacs. The survey, which began in 1988, provides a consumer based measure of financial behaviour and includes attitudes to money, banking behaviour, and Direct Debit. The fieldwork, which is representative of the GB population, is carried out by Ipsos-MORI.

Michael Chambers, Managing Director, Bacs, said: “For some time now, our data has indicated that cheque usage has been in a steady decline, with those who have a bank or building society account, choosing to pay regular bills by cheque dropping by 10 per cent over the past five years(7). It is therefore unsurprising that more and more companies are choosing to exclude cheque payments and our results show that consumers are going the same way. Through CPS, we know that consumers are finding Direct Debit an easier way to pay because it saves time, is a simple way to keep on top of monthly payments, it is easy to use and it is protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee.”

For more information about Bacs and our services visit Bacs key facts.

Contact Bacs press office.

Notes
(1) CPS 1996 and IPSOS MORI 2006
(2) Daily Mail, 12 September 2006
(3) BBC News online, 12 September 2006
(4) CPS 1996 and IPSOS MORI 2006
(5) Boots statistics as reported in Daily Mail, 12 September 2006
(6) Bacs annual long term tacking research 2006. c. 2000 GB adults interviewed August 2006
(7) 28% of UK adults agreed that they paid most regular bills by cheque in 2001 compared with 18% in 2006


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