The phasing out of cheques in the UK by 2018 will have “major ramifications” for the elderly, British MPs were told as a campaign was launched to prolong their use.
Millions of people still use this payment method every day and scrapping its use would hit small businesses, the elderly and blind people the hardest, it was claimed.
The UK’s Payments Council, which represents the banks, announced in December last year that it planned to end the use of cheques by October 2018.
But David Ward, a Liberal Democrat MP, launched a campaign this week to save the cheque, arguing that any decision to scrap its use should be taken by a body accountable to Parliament. Mr Ward told the House of Commons that cheques should be brought under the consumer protection remit of the Financial Services Authority, or the body that replaces it rather than a commercial body with vested interests.
He said that more than four million people used cheques everyday with small businesses, the elderly and the blind being hit the hardest by the decision.
"This decision will, I believe, have major ramifications,” he told MPs. “The truth is that setting an end date for cheques will inevitably accelerate the process by which businesses stop accepting cheques and individual banks stop issuing them, making the demise of the cheque a self fulfilling prophecy.”
The MP for Bradford East is using the so-called 10 Minute Rule to introduce a bill to save the cheque.
Mr Ward said elderly people were the largest group who were reliant on cheques, while they were also the group that would find it hardest to adopt alternatives.
"Overall my concern is that people will move back to cash and start to keep large volumes of money in their houses, making them vulnerable to theft,” he said.
"We do not want to see older people keeping wads of cash under their mattresses to pay for day to day necessities and outside help."
Cheques were first introduced 350 years ago, but the Payments Council has said their use is in "long-term, terminal decline".
The use of cheques has been falling since 1990, dropping by 40 per cent over the past five years.
Paul Smee, chief executive of the Payments Council, defended its decision, rejecting claims that such legislation was required.
"The Payments Council has set a target date to close the cheque clearing in eight years' time,” he said.
“But we'll only be going ahead with this date in 2016 if we've been able to ensure that alternatives have been identified, are accessible and are actually being used."
