Dr Ros Altmann

Director-General, Dr Ros Altmann, commenting on news that The Payments Council will not be scrapping cheque books, said: "Money in the modern era is easy-come-easy-go; the ceremony of writing a cheque gives importance to a transaction, and reminds people of an era when money was a great deal more scarce, and a great deal more valued.

"This is a fantastic victory for common sense - Saga has daily contact with millions of older people, and we have led or backed every effort to ensure the powers that be know that the cheque is well short of being past it.

"There are millions of older people who have spent far more of their lives in the paper age - using cheques - than in the electronic, paperless, age. Our independent Populus research showed 67% of older people disagreed with the banks’ plans to phase out cheques. Eight per cent – around two million over-50s - said they would not manage at all to pay some of their bills if they did not have cheques.

"As well as being a practical system to which they have become accustomed, older people also feel that cheques give some comfort that there's proof their money is moving around under their control. And if, for instance, they want to send their grandchildren a birthday gift, donate some money to a small charity or pay their plumber, they will be able to continue with the convenience of cheques.

"They are bombarded with warnings about guarding their card details – and not all older people have credit or debit cards - and those warnings have, in their minds, simply underpinned their concerns about handing over card details, and steeled their determination to keep the cheque alive and kicking.

"Abolishing cheques would have made things easier for the banks, but would have made life much harder for their customers.

"I’m delighted that the Treasury Select Committee has flexed its muscles on this one and stood up for customers against the strength of the banking sector – it is encouraging to see the banks have backed down and seen common sense too."