Can I refuse cheque as a form of payment?

GG66

I have a particular client who pays by cheque and I prefer them to pay by bank transfer. The main reason is two cheques have "gone missing" in 12 months.

Can I legally refuse payment by cheque?

Nickla

i don't see why you can't refuse them - cheques are not legal tender

SEPT 23 1989

Of course you can if you can afford to lose a customer

GG66

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Of course you can if you can afford to lose a customer

That's a possibility I've considered and I'm ok with it.

My question remains though. Can I legally insist on payment by bank transfer or can they insist that I accept cheques.

vintagecosmos

GG66 wrote: »

That's a possibility I've considered and I'm ok with it.

My question remains though. Can I legally insist on payment by bank transfer or can they insist that I accept cheques.

Not sure if legal or not. But you could charge an admin fee for cheques. You do have to go to bank after all. Hopefully it deters them.

368100

Yes...of course you can

jimmii

Such a pain when people want to pay by cheque given how hard it is to get to a branch these days. Have Irish banks started allowing cheques to be lodged via the app? Our bank allows cheques up to £500 to be lodged via app makes life a lot easier as most of the cheques we get are less than that.

martyoo

You can certainly refuse to take cheques. I get a lot of cheques mainly due to the demographic I'm dealing with. I don't mind too much as I save on the CC fees and there is an AIB lobby near the office that opens to 9pm.

Saying that if one or two were to go "missing" I'd probably have a different response.

realdanbreen

GG66 wrote: »

I have a particular client who pays by cheque and I prefer them to pay by bank transfer. The main reason is two cheques have "gone missing" in 12 months.

Can I legally refuse payment by cheque?

How do you mean-gone missing?

Sleeper12

jimmii wrote:

Such a pain when people want to pay by cheque given how hard it is to get to a branch these days. Have Irish banks started allowing cheques to be lodged via the app? Our bank allows cheques up to £500 to be lodged via app makes life a lot easier as most of the cheques we get are less than that.

You can lodge cash & cheques at most full pass machines. Not the lit ones in shops though

368100

martyoo wrote: »

You can certainly refuse to take cheques. I get a lot of cheques mainly due to the demographic I'm dealing with. I don't mind too much as I save on the CC fees and there is an AIB lobby near the office that opens to 9pm.

Saying that if one or two were to go "missing" I'd probably have a different response.

Are cheque lodgements fees not more expensive than Cc fees?

easypazz

368100 wrote: »

Are cheque lodgements fees not more expensive than Cc fees?

Most probably. Certainly more than debit cards. Plus the hassle of having to lodge them etc.

GG66

realdanbreen wrote: »

How do you mean-gone missing?

Open to interpretation. Posted, never arrived. No presented for payment.

GG66

368100 wrote: »

Are cheque lodgements fees not more expensive than Cc fees?

The cost to me is 80c in bank charges.
But about 2 hours in time + 40 miles in a car.

tnegun

A former employer used to pay everyone by cheque, reckoned he'd get an extra week or more credit on top of his 30 days, the odd one was never cashed with the debt settled so he had no incentive to change, oh and the business was accounting software support with ecommerce and onlink banking addons!

tvjunki

cheques can go missing. I put cheques in for two suppliers in a full post box and they never arrived. Someone must have put their hand in and removed the letters. Put new ones in a different post box and they arrived the next day.

By demanding a bank transfer does not mean you will get paid any quicker. Many businesses wait until they get paid and then they will pay their suppliers. Often happens in construction.
what was said to me was take payment in what ever method your client prefers to make their life easier. Better to have a happy customer than no customer. If they offer a cheque take it. If they offer cash take it also.

Trojan

It's supply and demand. If you create enough demand then you can refuse cheques and be as picky as you like.

Here's how I handle payments;

I have 1 client who pays by cheque which is hassle, takes a week and requires a trip to the bank. I don't mention cheques as a method of payment, I give them IBAN and an online payment link. I try to dissuade new clients from paying by cheque unless there's a very compelling reason.

I try to get most paying by SEPA bank transfer, this is around 40% of my clients.

The rest pay via credit card online processed through Stripe, which costs me a further ~2% but is quicker.

This also includes recurring subscription payments, and I happily cede the ~2% to have a nice automated subscription process.

I also offer a discount (5-10%) for full upfront payment of the fee (as opposed to 50% start, 50% on completion). This option is taken up about 30% of the time.

Axwell

Same as Trojan, all invoices come with a payment link which takes debit/credit cards via stripe and then also includes IBAN for bank transfer. I put a simple note on invoices saying "We have moved to paperless payments and only take payment via Electronic Funds Transfer (Bank Transfer) or via credit/debit card." Any people that used to pay by cheque were phased out and told to pick one of those options that suited them, most just pay by bank transfer now that paid by cheque previously.

sderiis

That's a possibility I've considered and I'm ok with it.

My question remains though. Can I legally insist on payment by bank transfer or can they insist that I accept cheques.

368100

sderiis wrote: »

That's a possibility I've considered and I'm ok with it.

My question remains though. Can I legally insist on payment by bank transfer or can they insist that I accept cheques.

Do your clients sign a contract with you and/ agree to terms and conditions?

If so, have you anything detailed there regarding forms of payment.

Be well and win

Banks have roled out an ability to lodge cheques by an App in the UK but can't see it ever happening here. Volumes are declining 10-15% pa across the industry and the investment required to do this is significant as well as a changes to the Bills of Exchange act so that will not be a priority for the Government

You can of course refuse to accept a cheque or add an additional admin charge for it. After all, retailers normally refuse cheques these days. As another poster pointed out, this could be a cash flow management issue for your customer. Alternatively, they may just have garbage broadband depending on where they are based.

antoinolachtnai

You can refuse to accept a cheque.

The problem with this is that it is commercially hazardous to refuse payment when presented for services or goods already delivered.

For this particular problem customer you could charge a cheque cashing fee of 20 euros (or whatever) and put it on the next invoice. Or load up the invoice and give a discount for EFT.

mneylon

We have some clients who still pay us by cheque, but they're in the minority.
Cheques aren't "legal tender" so you *could* refuse to take them, but there are still some organisations out there who will keep using them as long as they're an option. Can you afford to not take their business?

WicklowTiger

GG66 wrote: »

The cost to me is 80c in bank charges.
But about 2 hours in time + 40 miles in a car.

Can't you post the cheque plus lodgement silp to the bank? I've done this many times, obviously adds a day or two which may be a problem if cashflow is tight but otherwise it does work and saves the 2 hours drive...

antoinolachtnai

Garson wrote: »

Guys, as you know something is payments can you help me with one question? I want to accept payments online and I don't know how to implement this. Well, I just don't have enough experience with it. Is there anyone who dealt with it?

You really need to give a bit more detail. Small amounts or large amounts? Credit card or bank transfer?