Exchanging bits of paper on a local basis was not too expensive; conversely, now that such a system is in place, creating electronic links between several thousand institutions is not easy.Banks have also done a good job bringing down the costs of processing cheques.
A more automated system ends the "soul destroying" work of processing cash and cheques, he says.
British banks are set to accept photos of cheques sent by smartphone, cutting the processing time from six to two days, the Treasury said on Thursday – but it insisted that this was not the next step in phasing out them out entirely.
The changing face of cheque processing, with new digital imaging, has brought considerable difficulties for this industry.
eFunds International, part of a company spun off from Deluxe, the biggest American printer of cheques, says that in Gurgaon, a suburb of Delhi, it has cut the number of errors in data processing for one client by 90%, and also cut the number of days taken to close the client's monthly accounts from five to three.
The use of cheques fell by 4%.
Some of her allegations are supported by photocopies of cheques.
And lots of cheques bounce, producing plenty in penalty fees.
The use of cheques is declining fast.
Last summer, California even had to issue IOUs in lieu of cheques to its creditors.
Many opponents of the ditching of cheques are concerned about the effects on elderly people.
