Money: towards a France without checks, with less cash and more controls
Banking authorities are directing French users, with or without their consent, toward increasingly digital payment methods to limit costs and fraud. Checkbooks could disappear as early as 2027.
Like a mantra, we're told that customs are evolving, that no one uses checks anymore, that cash will soon be a thing of the past. But practices aren't changing so naturally. Checkbooks are becoming less and less accepted, including in public administration, and cash machines are becoming rarer in cities, while contactless or mobile payments are becoming increasingly easier.
With less and less use, the checkbook could be seeing its final months. In early August, the Directorate General of Public Finance announced that it was considering no longer accepting it for paying fines or taxes. Currently, only 4.5% of payments to the Treasury are made by check, representing approximately 1% of the amounts concerned.
The project seems to be quite advanced, since according to the CGT Finances union, the closure of the last check cashing center for public finances in France, based in Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), has been announced...
L'Humanité
