Payments Council launches first national plan for UK payments

The UK's Payments Council has unveiled the first national plan for UK payments, providing a strategic framework for payments innovation and change over the next decade.

The National Payments Plan - Setting the strategic vision for UK payments also summarises the results of the public consultation launched on 26 November 2007. The Plan has been developed after extensive consultation with the payments industry and users and includes statements of principle, specific actions and a number of focused reviews of key issues.

The document covers current payment methods such as plastic cards, cash and cheques and also reviews the next wave of innovation in payments, fraud and security, and consumer education about payments. "Our Plan has been developed with input and ideas from consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporates, and we have been delighted with the degree of consensus which our Consultation revealed,” says Brian Pomeroy, chairman of the Payments Council.

"We are confident that our vision for payments over the next decade strikes a chord with both the payments sectors and its users, with an emphasis on innovation, efficiency and integrity."

The Payments Council is the strategic body for payments in the UK and was established to ensure that UK payment systems and services meet the needs of users, payment service providers and the wider economy. "The Plan is largely focused on practical steps to implement the vision; as this is the first time a UK Payments Plan has been produced, we also need to undertake further research and consultation around a number of areas and then take final decisions in the light of that work,” continues Pomeroy.

"For example, the future of the cheque attracted the most comments from respondents and our diagnosis that the cheque is in irreversible decline went almost unchallenged. However, we are fully aware that alternative arrangements to cheques have to be available before the closure of the cheque clearing service can be seriously contemplated."

Around 1.6bn cheque-based payments were made in 2007, a decline of 9.3% from 2006, whilst total value of cheque payments fell 1.3%. This is thought to be the fastest rate of decline recorded since cheque use began falling in 1991.

Over the past year more retailers in the UK have stopped accepting cheques for payments. Supermarkets Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Asda and Tesco along with retailers Boots and Marks and Spencer, are either phasing out or have already stopped taking cheques. Shell has also stopped accepting cheques at its petrol stations across the country.