Farmers debate the end of the cheque in 2018

The warning that cheques may be phased out in October 2018 is prompting discussion among farmers with many pointing out that they still use their cheque books frequently.

Writing on the forums, Fatso said he uses the cheque book, as he knows where money is going.

“I don’t trust online banking,” he said. “Fraudsters are standing at the back door waiting for you to slip up.”

Crazysheep pointed out that many show societies were not geared up to take anything other than cheques.

“I do about 15 shows a year entering sheep and only three have online entries. All the others are cheque with entry form jobs. There’s a lot of modernisation needed.”

See what other people have said about the issue – and join in the discussion yourself on the forums.

The board of the UK Payments Council has set a target date for the end of cheques in a bid to encourage the advance of other forms of payment.

However, it has stressed that cheques will not go until adequate alternatives are developed.