Over the same period, the number BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  of electronic payments per capita has risen by more than 400 per cent. As the use of cheques has fallen, the per-cheque cost to financial institutions and businesses has generally risen.
The market has, and continues to, respond to these pressures by looking for more efficient ways to process cheques, but they are clearly the highest cost payment instrument, as will be confirmed when the Bank releases its payments cost study later this year.