A graphic showing the life cycle of a cheque

For public sector cheques are gone for good

From today (19 September) public sector bodies will no longer send and receive cheques to and from businesses.

The initiative - labelled 'E-Day' - was organised by the National Payments Plan (NPP) and it calls on businesses to review the way they transact payments and look to cards and e-payments as more efficient alternatives.

The e-Day campaign was launched in September 2013 by Minister of State at the Department of Finance Simon Harris TD, and NPP Programme Manager Ronnie O’Toole.

Every day Irish Small and Medium Enterprises send and receive an average of 61,369 cheques.

Cheques issued by all businesses will be an estimated 28 million in 2014, down from 33 million in 2012.