According to predictions from UK-bank Halifax, cheques could go the way of dodo within the next 20 years as consumers and businesses now prefer electronic to physical payments.
Cheque use, the bank found, is now at its lowest ever point. In 2004, 2.1 billion cheques were issued, down seven percent on the previous year.
Businesses' cheque use in particular has plummeted, as firms now almost exclusively prefer to pay their employees using electronic transfer systems such as Bacs and EFT. Around 90 percent of UK workers are now paid in this way.
If the downward trend continues, cheques could be dead by 2025, according to Halifax.
Banknotes are also falling victim to the rise in Internet, telephone and electronic payments. Between February 2001 and 2005, the Bank of England cut the number of banknotes issued by 25 percent, from 982 million to 735 million.
Silicon.com's Jo Best reported from London. For more coverage on silicon.com, click here.
