Marks & Spencer bans customers from using cheques

Marks & Spencer is set to become the latest major high street retailer to refuse to accept cheques in a move which could prove to be the final death knell for traditional paper payments.

The store chain giant has announced that from March 1, its millions of customers countrywide will have to use cash or plastic when they pay for their shopping at the checkout.

M&S says cheques slow customers down at the checkout, and are dwindling in popularity with Britain's shoppers.

But the move has attracted criticism, particularly from lobby groups for the elderly, who have urged the company to rethink claiming that the ban will rob customers of choice.

A spokeswoman for M&S said: "From the first of March, we will no longer be accepting cheques.

"We think it's reflective of the retail industry as a whole. This move will speed things up in store for all our customers, and there is also the issue of cheque fraud."

But a spokesman for Age Concern Scotland said: "This decision will present a problem to many older Marks & Spencer customers.

"Many older people prefer to manage their expenditure through the use of a chequebook where they can easily record the amount of money they are spending.

"Modern receipts are full of information printed in small type and are also very flimsy.

"Many older people dislike using large amounts of cash and are unable to use Chip and Pin due to physical or mental frailties.

"This decision may restrict the choice of retailer available to older people and Age Concern Scotland would urge Marks & Spencer to reconsider this decision."

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One leading expert said that M&S's move signalled the end of the cheque. Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology at Lancaster University Management School, said: "With such an iconic traditional business doing this, it could well be the death of the cheque.

"There will be opposition from some older customers, but the young are not at all cheque-orientated. I see that with students.

"What do you need it for? You don't even need it to pay off your credit card now, you can do that all automatically, over the phone or by computer."

A spokeswoman at John Lewis also suggested that its days of accepting cheques might be numbered as well.

But it's not all bad news for lovers of cheques. Tesco will continue to accept this form of payment following a review of customers last year.

BHS has already announced it will continue to accept cheques.

In 2006, there were an average of 4.9million cheques written each day, compared with 11million a day in 1990.

Retailers say they typically account for less than 1% of transactions.

Retailers who have already banned cheques include Argos, Asda, Boots, Sainsbury's, WHSmith, Next, Shell, Currys and PC World.

Retailers who have scrapped them have cited complaints by shoppers forced to wait while customers fill out cheques.