Marcus Bishop Associates - Chartered Certified Accountants - The way forward for Businesses

Following the 33% decline in the use of cheques for online or high street purchases over the last year, the banks have announced that the cheque guarantee card scheme will end on 30 June 2011. Cheques will still accepted by some businesses until an announced date of their cessation. However, it does leave the small business who relies on this guarantee in a state of flux. Any cheque payment accepted after 30 June 2011 will not have any guarantee from the banks and the recipient is exposed to a greater risk of non payment.

Over the past five years there has been a 70% decline in the use of cheques for any form of purchase, according to the Payments Council. Several large companies have already stopped accepting cheques. It may be time for the small business to turn off the lights on the use of cheques.