Your views have been collated and passed on to the Payments Council to be taken into account with other opinions that they receive.

An issue of particular interest to the Payments Council is the likely remaining life of the cheque scheme. The numbers being issued by customers of British banks are now declining, and members will be aware of the number of major retailers that are no longer accepting them as payment at the point of sale.

Our members reported that they still receive 72% of their payments from other businesses by cheque. However, when we asked them about their preferences, 60% said that they would prefer to receive such payments by BACS. Only 18% expressed a preference for cheques. In a similar fashion, 80% of the members responding to the survey said that they still receive regular cheque payments from non-business sources. And in this situation, 25% of the respondents expressed a preference for continuing to receive cheques in payment. Turning to outbound payments, 55% of responding members reported that they most frequently pay other businesses by cheque. And this accounts for around 81% of their total business payments. Indeed, 43% said that they preferred to make their payments to other businesses by cheque, with 31% expressing a preference for BACS and 15% favouring the use of the internet.

The issue of proactively managing the decline of the cheque was raised by the Payments Council. 62% of members were prepared to accept a 10-year timescale for a 2018 closure of the scheme, if a deadline is required. However, members were only agreeable to such a deadline providing there is a viable alternative. In our response we also highlighted the need for education and information to encourage a shift away from the use of cheques. In particular, we saw the need to ensure that the benefits of alternative methods are clearly understood. These include fraud prevention and the issue of security. In a closely related question, the Payments Council also sought views on the need for an objective review of the cheque guarantee scheme. Our response supported such a review, particularly if the decision is taken to leave the decline of the cheque to market forces. However, we did express the opinion that the review should be carried out by a body other than the Payments Council.

Other issues covered by the Payments Council consultation included the direct debit scheme, where we will be pressing for work to be done to make it more available to small businesses. We also envisaged a role for the Council in developing cooperative information sharing agreements. This is an area where we believe that the standardisation of messaging and invoicing would help businesses keep better track of their finances, with further benefits in the reduction of late payments.

The Payments Council must continue to engage stakeholders, and we will ensure that our members views remain in view. Further surveys may be required of members as matters progress, in order that we can remain in touch with your views.

Click here to download the FPB's consultation response.