Singapore to eliminate use of all corporate cheques by 2025

Cheque transactions have declined by almost 70% between 2016 to 2022.

Singapore is eliminating the use of all corporate cheques by end-2025.

Banks will also commence charging for Singapore Dollar (SGD)-denominated cheques by 1 November 2023, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in a statement. The new charges that will be used to recover these cheque processing costs, MAS said.

Cheque usage in Singapore has been falling steadily, according to MAS, and as a result, the cost of processing cheques has been rising.

Annual cheque transaction volume has declined by almost 70% from 61 million in 2016 to less than 19 million in 2022, according to MAS. This meant that the average cost of clearing a cheque has quadrupled since 2016, to $0.4 in 2021.

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If cheque volumes fall by a further 70% by 2025, the cost of clearing a cheque is projected to increase between $2 and $6 by 2025. Banks will no longer be able to absorb these costs and will have to reflect the cost of cheque processing in their charges to their customers, MAS said.

Individuals will still be able to use cheques for the period after 2025.