No Cheques at Asda Checkout
A supermarket is banning cheques from its stores in the hope of shortening queues and saving shoppers time at the tills.
Retail giant Asda is the first supermarket to ban cheques for a trial period to help cut queues at the tills.
The superstore chain is trying a cash and plastic-only policy at 21 of its stores in the Greater London area following a fall in the number of shoppers choosing to pay by cheque.
In terms of retail spending, cheques represent just six per cent of spending whereas plastic payments account for 60 per cent.
Jemma Smith of Apacs said: "There is a generation of people who have grown up without having a cheque book around.
"We have moved away from cheques and cash and are increasingly turning to plastic, particularly our debit cards."
Shell stopped accepting cheques at its 586 forecourts in September, saying the move was "in line with the general trend within the retail sector".
Consumers in the Asda pilot area who are stuck for a way to pay can still use cheques for the next three weeks but after that the policy will evaluated and cheques may be gone for good.
