The Payments Council has decided not to push ahead with the abolition of cheques unless charities and other organisations are prepared for it.

The decision to not close cheque clearing services in the UK by October 2018 unless it is convinced adequate payment alternatives are in place by 2016 followed lobbying from the charity sector and criticism from the Treasury Committee.

It has led to a series of meetings with the charity sector about the future of cheques which have included analysis of the use of cheques and research into potential alternatives.  

In the meetings, charities have told the Council they want to be sure that the number of donations they receive, especially from older donors, will not be reduced in a world without cheques. Also, very small organisations say they do not currently have the resource to access technology for electronic payments, or the IT skills to use them.

However, the Payments Council has also listed many reasons why charities would gain from a move away from cheques including the fact that cheques taking several days to clear meant it took longer for a charity to access funds; and that cheque donations did not encourage or enable gift aid to be reclaimed.

The Payments Council will release a full summary of its workshop findings and a full report by the end of the year.