Barclays Bank has announced that it will begin trials of remote cheque deposit technology ‘early in the New Year.’
The UK government is working on a new legislation aimed at allowing the use of smartphones for remote cheque deposits and according to the Treasury the new rules should cut down cheque processing times from six to two days.
Steven Rogers, managing director at Barclays said: "We’re excited to be the first bank to pilot this new technology and always welcome legislation which enables the whole industry to work together to make customers lives easier."
Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Sajid Javid, said: "The government is determined to create a banking sector that works for consumers and serves businesses.
"We want to take the very best of the current system and make it better. We want to cheques to have a crucial role in the ongoing success of the UK."
Cheques represent a significant portion of the British payments landscape, with nearly £840bn ($1.384bn) worth of cheques processed in 2013, accounting for 10% of all payments made by individuals.
The UK government started working on remote cheque deposit legislation in 2011, after a consumer backlash to plans to phase out the use of cheques by 2018.
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