Irish payments landscape poised for overhaul – report

The volume of cheques has decreased by over 13 percent over the past 12 months, more than double the reduction in 2008 and bringing the decrease to 23 percent (from 130 million to 100 million) over four years of successive decline.

The findings of the IPSO report come after the Irish Government approved last year the concept of a National Payments Implementation Plan (NPIP). This means that Irish businesses have to plan and prepare to update legacy, cheque-based accounting processes with electronic ones. Apart from being faster, more secure and more cost-effective, modern electronic payment systems give the beneficiary certainty of payment, particularly the current economic context.

IPSO’s 2009 annual review also highlights the fact that while cheque volumes have declined, cheques still account for 66 percent of the value of all noncash payments in Ireland versus an EU average of only 3 percent.

As a proportion of all payments, electronic alternatives to the cheque (i.e. electronic credits and direct debits), currently account for about 41 percent of all non-cash payments. However, in value terms these electronic payments account for only 30 percent. This compares poorly against EU averages which, in 2008, were 54 percent of volume and 96 percent of value.

Over the past year, debit card usage was found to have increased by 8 percent in Ireland. An ongoing concern however is that even with a drop in 2009 to an average of EUR 5,644 in ATM cash withdrawals per annum per person, this remains the highest cash figure in the EU and is more than double the EU average.

IPSO is owned by the Irish retail banks and is governed by a board of directors including four independent (non-bank) directors which ensures wide stakeholder representation.