Cheques to be phased out in 2018, plus the top 10 facts about the paper payment method

Check out our list of ten facts you probably didn't know below...

1. The first cheque ever written was made on the 16 February 1659, for GBP 400 to be paid to a Mr Delboe by Nicholas van Acker.
2. In 1717 the Bank of England started making printed cheques.
3. The nation's first cheque clearing house was built in 1833 on Lombard Street in London.
4.  It is expected that without any changes, cheque use will decline naturally to 1.8 million aday in 2018, down from 3.8 million a day today.
5. Each adult in the UK receives an average of fewer than five cheques per year.
6. In 2007, the 2-4-6 rules on cheque clearing came in, letting consumers know with certainty when funds would clear.
7. In 2008 there were 1.4 billion cheque payments, down from a peak in 1990 of 4 billion cheque payments.
8. The cheque guarantee scheme, which started in 1965 and allowed consumer to guarantee amounts up to GBP 30, will end in June 2011: in 2008, only 95 million of all cheques were guaranteed.
9. No major UK supermarkets continue to accept cheques, and most high street stores and petrol stations don't accept them due to the high cost of processing.
10. In the United States, cheques are only valid from six months after being issued.