Useful links:
eMoney News | eMoney Press Releases | sQuid schemes - eMoney

eMoney News

More people 'living without cash using cards'
10 Jul 2009

Whereas historically people have turned to cheques when living without cash, the increasing popularity of cards is making paper payments as a whole less popular, it has been noted.

The Payments Council explains that cheques - and in particular cheque guarantee cards - are now approaching a level of usage low enough that the guarantee scheme may be removed.

"If hardly anyone is using the cheque guarantee scheme, it seems a bit pointless to keep it open," a spokesperson says.

She adds that the reduction in the number of cheques being used is part of a consumer-led trend.

Instead, people are looking to card payments as a means of living without cash.

Contactless smart cards such as the sQuidcard are one way of using electronic money to fund small transactions quickly.

Electronic money can be deducted from the user's contactless smart card within a few seconds of it being passed across the retailer's card reader, according to sQuidcard.