By 2016, the Irish Payment Services Organisation, or IPSO, wants cheques to be no longer used as a form of payment. This call was made on Friday at the second National Payments Conference, that took place in Dublin, Ireland. The Irish Payment Services Organisation says that payment using cash and cheques cost the economy a huge 1.4 billion euros every year, because of the production and administration costs that they incur.
IPSO firmly believes that the Irish economy can completely do away with cheques. Once a date is set, then a national plan can be devised and the removal of cheques as a payment type can be managed and put into practice. Alternative means of payments are in abundance, and these are much more efficient. Other EU countries, particularly the Netherlands, are already utilizing the importance of other different forms of payment, and focusing on these, pushing cheques into the background.
If the volume of cheques is reduced by just 20 to 10 per cent, then this could save the economy around 5 or 10 per cent. The chief executive of the Irish Payment Services Organisation stated that if debit cards were used more widely, this would cause cheques to be used less overall in Ireland.
Around the continent in other European countries, the system is already being modeled where debit cards are automatically allowed for purchases that are below €20. This reduces delays in payments, and means that even small transactions can be made without needing to use cash. All that is needed is the debit card to be placed in the reader, and the amount is automatically deducted.
UseCash is an alternative method to cheques that is being launched in the near future. It is developed by a Galway company with the same name. This will launch sometime in May, and it aims to open up the possibilities of online shopping to consumers who are wary of the dangers of using credit cards to complete transactions online, or for people who don’t have the use of a credit or debit card.
There are around one million Irish adults that don’t have, or don’t use credit cards, while across the continent, only one in eight Europeans would not consider using their credit cards for online shopping.
UseCash gives each of its users a barcode every time they order something online. The barcode needs to be printed out and took to a participating Payzone store, and there the transaction is processed just like any other shop purchase would happen. The online retailer is notified as soon as the transaction is finished and then whatever has been ordered will be dispatched. Partnerships have been established between UseCash and some online retailers, including Elara, Irish Music Shop and Giftmaster.
Research carried out showed that 90 per cent of students in NUI Galway showed interest in the service. As students have the highest use of the internet and the lowest level of credit card use, the UseCash system could prove to be very successful.