The cheque’s end is nigh: Hong Kong’s banks set road map to phase out paper payment in their embrace of epayments

The Hong Kong Association of Banks will consider the future of cheques as a payment method amid a 34% decline in their use over the past five years. An HKAB delegation will visit Thailand this month to promote the city, while plans are afoot to explore ties in the Middle East, chair Luanne Lim says. — SCMP

The use of cheques in the city could end as the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) works out a road map this year to phase it out amid an irreversible shift to electronic payments.

Electronic payment methods have taken off, said Luanne Lim, chairwoman of HKAB, pointing to PayMe, Faster Payment System (FPS) and ewallets such as Alipay and WeChat Pay.