Over the years many consumers in the UK have become used to making payment for goods and services by way of a cheque, even in places such as shops and supermarkets. However, recent research shows that cheque payments could soon become a thing of the past in many areas, with fewer and fewer retailers wishing to undertake the time and hassle involved in processing cheques. More and more people are now using credit and debit cards to make cashless transactions rather than cheques, which is why many retailers have decided to stop accepting cheque payments.

Sainsbury’s, the supermarket giant, is the latest in a long line of retailers that has decided that cheque payments are not worth the hassle and time involved in processing, and as such the supermarket chain has decided to stop accepting cheque payments as of the beginning of August in its supermarkets. One official from Sainsbury’s stated that fewer and fewer customers were opting to pay by cheque these days, and therefore it was not really worth keeping this method of payment on.

A number of other retailers have decided to stop accepting cheques as a method of payment, and this includes WH Smith, Morrisons, Boots, Asda, and Shell. With most people making payment for goods by credit and debit card, the decision of these retailers to stop accepting cheque payments will affect the minority rather than the majority. It is likely that this decision will also have an impact on the number of transactions being made by card, as all those that did tend to pay by cheque at retailers such as these will now have to look at an alternative methods of payment. The number of card transactions made each year has already been rising over recent years.