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chequing out

Consumers ditching cheques and cash for debit cards

A new report has shown that the use of online banking is on the rise though the value of payments has fallen/

IRISH PEOPLE ARE moving away from cash and cheques more and more in favour of credit and debit cards, according to a new report.

The report published by the Irish Payment Services Organisation (IPSO) shows that cheque spending is down by 62 per cent in the last five years with the value of cheques and paper debits falling from €797 billion to €301 billion.

The number of ATM withdrawals has also fallen 19 per cent and the value of withdrawals dropped from €29 billion to €20 billion in the same period.

Despite the decline in paper-based payments, Ireland remains one of the last few EU countries still using cheques and the value of cash withdrawn per capita is 66 per cent above average.

Debit cards are on the rise, with numbers up 38 per cent in a five year period and the number of payments up 41 per cent from 181 million to 256 million.

While the value of ATM withdrawals and cheque payments declined, the value of debit payments rose by 20 per cent to over €13 billion.

Online banking is also seeing an increase in popularity among consumers with the number of automated payments up slightly by 2 per cent though the value of payments fell 6 per cent in the five year period.

Commenting on the figures, IPSO CEO Pat McLoughlin said that they indicate that consumers and businesses are tending towards the “more efficient payment tools available”.

Read: Investigators uncover $45 million global ATM fraud ring>
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