Float through any social event with M's fast facts. This week Nadia el Dasher says farewell to cheques
THE BASICS The Payments Council Board, the body that oversees the way bank payments are made within the UK, has announced that the central cheque clearing system will end by October 31, 2018. The idea that a centuries-old method of payment would become redundant led to uproar among the British, who tend only to care about something when they think it is to be taken away from them.
THE HISTORY Cheques are one of the oldest methods of payment, dating back to ancient Rome. They were hugely popular from the 1950s to the 1990s but have been superseded by the rise of debit cards and online banking. Banks don't like them because they cost a lot to process. But many small businesses still rely on them, as do the older generation: receiving a cheque in a birthday card from your grandma is every child's right.
THE INEVITABLE The cheque will undoubtedly fade into oblivion, because where the UK leads the world will follow. Already, South African banks have started to investigate whether or not they should follow suit. Those uncomfortable with plastic and/or online banking will be keeping larger amounts of cash under their mattress.
THE CONVERSATION How are lottery winners and charities receiving big donations going to pose for the cameras with a computerised wire transfer?
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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