Cheques decline as contactless payments become the new norm

Ireland is now one of only a handful of countries worldwide where cheques are still regularly used

Figures from the BPFI showed a strong recovery in the value of contactless payments in May as spending reached almost €600m.

Time was when getting your first chequebook represented an important step on the road to maturity and adulthood. This is an era clearly at an end due to cheques having experienced a 45% falloff since 2016 as consumers continue to flock toward electronic payments. 

The latest figures from Banking & Payments Federation Ireland show that cheque usage continued to decline in Q1 2020 with 6.6m cheque payments, a 15% reduction from 7.8m in Q1 2019, and from 12m in the first quarter of 2016.