Ode to the Cheque Book

I have actually used more cheques this year than in the last three years put together, I've just started my third cheque book in 2009.

I will miss the option of paying by cheque, I can still do this is some places (but this is getting smaller as each month passes).

The cheque guarantee card will be withdrawn in 2011.

I will however not miss the huge delay in paying a cheque in and the bank clearing the cheque into my account. I recently read something on a major bank's website, about how long it takes for cheques to clear:

If a cheque was paid in on Wednesday 2nd of December 2009, it would earn Interest from Friday the 4th, I would be able to draw funds out on Tuesday the 8th, but the cheque would not actually clear fully until Friday 11th of December 2009 - meaning that I could have spent all of the money when the bank decide to bounce it.

Electronic transfer's can now be done in less than 2 hours, this is the future, sadly cheques cannot compete with the super fast reality.

Another draw back to the cheque is the excuse "the cheque is in the post", when its payment for work you've done, that usually means we have not bothered to look at your invoice yet.

However it is an excuss I won't be able to use for much longer ... I am determined that by the next tax year I will not only do my Self Assessment online, but that I will only make and accept electronic payments.

Another drawback to the business cheque is it looks like a bill, my grandad got two cheques last year and just filled them away thinking they were bills, when I went through his paperwork this year, we had one day to bank them ... as the six month time limit was alomost up.