Now, transfer money by emailing photograph of cheques to banks

A new money transfer scheme championed by Chancellor George Osborne allows bank account holders to deposit cash right from the comfort of their home or office by simply emailing the picture of a completed cheque.

Officials said that the change, which is expected to be implemented as early as next year, will speed up deposits but they dismiss fears it paves the way to scrapping cheques.

According to the Daily Express, with payments of nearly 840billion pounds made by cheques processed in the UK last year, a pensioners' charity has called for a guarantee that cheques will not be phased out.

Caroline Abrahams of Age UK said that it is essential that the new processing systems are secure and the option of paying in face to face at a bank or post office remains available to anyone who prefers to bank that way.

Meanwhile, business and consumer groups have welcomed the plan as many find the current process frustratingly slow.

The report said that a key option is to enable banks to process images of cheques rather than paper with technology widely used in the US and consumers could be allowed to snap picture of a cheque via their phone camera and sent it as an email or a text message to their bank.