Following a steady decline in cheque use, the Cheque Guarantee Card Scheme is due to end on 30 June 2011. For the last 40 years companies have had the option to accept a cheque with a guarantee, up to £100, if accompanied by a customer’s card carrying the Shakespeare logo.

At the moment, if you receive a cheque guaranteed against a customer’s debit card, you will get the amount due from the customer’s bank, even if they don’t have the funds to honour the payment. As technology has moved on the use of cheques has declined, particularly in the last few years, with only about 7% of cheques guaranteed by a card.  The average value of a cheque is now two and a half times the £100 maximum value that is covered, and banks have already started to phase out debit cards carrying a guarantee, to reduce losses from cheque fraud and discourage card abuse.

You will still be able to accept cheques but they won’t be guaranteed. The scheme has been superseded by electronic transfers, online payments and debit/credit cards with chip and pin security.