IT appears perverse, in a time of austerity, for the banks to be supported by the coalition government in the proposed abolition of cheques. Not only will this be a great inconvenience, particularly to those who do not wish to use credit cards, but these cards facilitate excessive private borrowing and living on credit, two vices of public spending that have landed the country in the mess it is in now. 

A cheque is merely a simple method of transferring a sum of money from one person to another and is an extension of cash. Once someone has given a cheque to another person and it has been deposited in that person's bank, then within a few days (assuming there are sufficient funds in the account) the debt is settled and there is an end to the matter.

Paying by credit card opens up various options. The bill is not presented for up to six weeks after the transaction has taken place and provided it is settled in full by a stated date the debtor has had the advantage of six weeks free credit. So far, so good.

Many people, however, do not settle the account (possibly with a cheque) and prefer to pay off only a small percentage of the sum owed. Then interest begins to be charged, usually at a high rate and moreover compounded, which means that eventually the debtor is paying interest not only on the capital sum but also on accumulated interest.

If a person has several credit cards and spends the maximum he is allowed on all of them, paying off only the minimum sum each month, it is easy to see that trouble lies ahead. Considerable hardship is experienced by people in debt and much of that debt is caused by excessive use of credit so why is the Government not promoting the use of cheques rather than credit cards? It used to be known as living within your means.

Gloucestershire police recently highlighted an example of a victim of a loan shark paying more than twice the original sum borrowed due to accumulated interest. This can also happen to a credit card account, a fact not similarly publicised.  

The abolition of cheques is probably promoted by banks to encourage online banking but is opposed by older people's organisations. Although the elderly are a sector of the population most likely to be greatly affected, it will inconvenience almost everyone who either does not wish to bank online or does not trust the security involved.

The clearing bank system has been in use for decades and appears to work well, and there has been no popular movement to abolish cheques. This a proposal that is being foisted on us for no good reason other than the convenience of the banks. We should all oppose it before it is too late and cheques vanish for ever.

– Daphne Pearson (Dr), Tinman's Green, Redbrook.