Fewer visits to bank branches with mobile cheque payments
CHEQUES should be cashed via mobile apps, the Treasury said yesterday, saving time and effort in paying in the funds.
The new technology is another step in reducing visits to branches, cutting costs for banks.
It launched a consultation on the idea, hoping to develop industry standards in the payments method.
Currently Barclays offers the system, where customers take a photo of a cheque on their phone and cash it in through the mobile app.
The Treasury said it should cut the time taken to pay in a cheque to two days.
“New technology has the potential to deliver real benefits for customers. That is why we’re creating a new payments regulator and why we are consulting on speeding up the cheque clearing process,” said minister Sajid Javid.
“We want to take the very best of the current system and make it better.”
Small business groups and charities, who are particularly reliant on cheques, backed the idea.
“Speeding up cheque payments into business accounts will help boost a firms’ cash-flow as many find the current process frustratingly slow,” said John Allan from the Federation of Small Businesses.