Who still uses their checkbook today?
According to the Observatory for the Security of Means of Payment (OSMP), this system has been in continuous decline since the 2000s, amplified in 2020 under the effect of the pandemic with a drop in volume of nearly 26%.
But if the bank card is by far the most used, the check still dethrones it in terms of transaction value.
Thus, that year, transactions by credit card represented 578 billion euros, against 614 billion euros for check issues.
Financial issues that delight criminals.
This means of payment remains the most defrauded in France, since it represents 42% of total fraud on cashless payment methods in 2020, i.e. a total of 538 million euros misappropriated.
Caution is advised
Faced with the scale of the phenomenon, the OSMP adopted an action plan aimed at strengthening the security of payments by check from July 2021, before its recommendations are relayed by the Banque de France.
Banking establishments are therefore encouraged to strengthen the monitoring of fraudulent check remittances and to improve the fight against those that are lost and stolen.
But users also have their role to play.
The institution reiterates good practices in this area, such as never signing a blank check or in advance, filling in all the mandatory information with a black ink pen and making sure to draw horizontal lines to avoid any blank space on the order or check amount.
Common sense also implies never entrusting unfilled checks to anyone, keeping your checkbook in a safe place, and finally not agreeing to cash a check that does not correspond to what was agreed or for the account of others.
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