Over the past year, the number of cheques written has fallen by another 19 per cent and the value of cheques written has fallen by more than 30 per cent, as the real estate industry has continued to shift to electronic property settlements (Graph 7). At some point it will be appropriate to wind up the cheque system, and that point is getting closer.
Before this happens, though, it is important that alternative payment methods are available for those who rely on cheques. Using the NPP infrastructure for new payment solutions is likely to help here. Graph 7  Third, is there a case for some rationalisation of Australia's three domestically focused payment schemes, namely BPAY, eftpos and NPPA?