Westpac rolls out a new way to process cheques using your smartphone

WESTPAC has now made it easier for its Australian customers to deposit cheques by using a more advanced method to get them processed faster.

CUSTOMERS can now deposit cheques using their smartphones instead of processing them at a bank branch or post office.

There’s no denying the use of the cheque is rapidly diminishing, but banks are working hard to improve how they can processed.

Figures from the Australian Payments Network, the payments industry self-regulatory body, found cheque use in Australia has fallen by 80 per cent over the past 10 years and continues decline at around 20 per cent annually.

But big bank Westpac says it is still receiving more than 30,000 cheques every day.

As a result it has improved the ways cheques can be processed and the speed at which money can be transferred between accounts.

This includes rolling out a new mobile cheque deposit feature. Customers can now use their banking app to deposit a cheque under $1000.

Westpac’s consumer bank chief executive, George Frazis, said the latest innovation added to a suite of mobile app functionalities.

“Customers can simply upload a picture of the front and back of their cheque to the Westpac app,” he said.

“The cheque will usually clear and be in the chosen transaction account within three business days.”

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The new capability allowing Westpac customers to deposit a cheque using their phone. Picture: Supplied.

The bank also recently rolled out the ability to make payments using virtual assistant Siri on a customer’s iPhone.

New research from Westpac found almost half of Australians (41 per cent) still use cheques to make or receive payments.

The latest Reserve Bank of Australia figures show the numbers of cheques has fallen in the last financial year, with 80.4 million cheques processed, down from 99.9 million for the same period in 2016-17 financial year.

Australian Payments Network chief executive officer Dr Leila Fourie said cheque use continued to decrease.

“Individuals and businesses are abandoning cheques at a rapid rate,” she said.

“As consumers continue to choose digital payments, financial institutions offer a myriad of solutions across all payment channels — it’s all about customer choice and convenience.”

Their figures show card users increased their use by 12.7 per cent to 8.8 billion transactions in the year to June 30.

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