Your editorial Endangered Paper (Jan. 2nd) says the Canadian Payments Association, the owner and operator of Canada's national clearing and settlement systems, has adopted as an assumption the "demise" of cheques and is expected to soon decide "on how to proceed." The CPA has not asked for any such decision from its member institutions and is not considering any initiative to phase out cheques.
The CPA's draft long-term strategy document does point out, though, that other countries have outlined "broad strategies to manage the decline and eventual demise of cheques." It also recognizes the changing landscape of payments.
With electronic payment options becoming more and more popular, cheques represent a smaller share of all the payment items entering the clearing and settlement system in Canada. This share has fallen dramatically, from 86 per cent in 1990 to 18 per cent today.
This being said, cheques remain a convenient method of payment for many Canadians, particularly for small and medium-size businesses that appreciate the remittance data the paper cheque represents in order to reconcile their accounts payable. As we point out in our document, 70 per cent to 80 per cent of all commercial payments in Canada are initiated as cheques.
President and CEO, Canadian Payments Association