The seized checks (police spokeswoman photo)
Singapore aims to eliminate the use of cheques, starting with corporate checks, by 2025. The check phase-out was announced by the city’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the Singapore Fintech Festival on Wednesday.
Wong described how electronic payments have expanded in recent years, causing the use of checks as part of payments to drop from 32 percent to seven percent since 2016. “Think about it: When was the last time you had to write a check? I haven’t done it in years,” Wong said. before admitting he didn’t even know where his checkbook was – surely a security concern in itself.
More in-
Wong further stated that reliance on checks “created suboptimal business processes” and “contributed to a relatively high cost of payments to the economy.” That is why the state made efforts to cancel all checks and end the approval of checks in the medium term. In the medium term, Wong was referring to 2025—at least as far as corporate testing is concerned.
To ensure that e-payment is inclusive, Wong said the government will provide a “longer track” for individuals to switch payment methods. He cited the elderly as a particularly tech-savvy group that would need more time to make the transition. “Let’s cancel membership checks first,” Wong repeated.
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