Cheques saved as banks U-turn
The Payments Council has reversed its decision to abolish the cheque by 2018, after a public outcry over plans to axe the payment method. The body, whose members include banks and payments organisations, said cheques would continue as long as customers needed them. Trade bodies representing builders and charities that campaign for the elderly had lobbied MPs over the plans. The use of cheques has been in decline in the last 20 years, as shops refuse to accept them, instead preferring chip and pin payments.