The UK Payments Council has confirmed it will not eradicate cheques as it had planned to in 2018. The financial body said last Tuesday that cheques would now continue to be available "for as long as customers need them".
However, the cheque guarantee card was abolished on 30 June this year.
Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury Select Committee (TSC) welcomed the council's decision.
"[The decision] to get rid of cheques was taken without having thought through the consequences for millions of people," he said.
"At last the Payments Council is concentrating on the right thing: making the existing cheque system faster and cheaper to operate. This will benefit both banks and to customers.
"Banks must now stop discouraging customers from using cheques. I remain concerned that the Payments Council, an industry-dominated body with no proper accountability, holds the future of cheques in its hands."
Viv King, principal at Viv King Financial Planning, said cheques are still essential to some of his clients.
"Some clients, such as older clients, do not or are unable to bank online," he said.
"There is also the problem of getting money from current accounts to ISAs or bonds. You can do it online, but it is often simpler to send a cheque off with your application."
King added the removal of the guarantee card may cause immediate problems for IFAs collecting fees via cheques.
"Now the cheque is good for nothing until it clears," King said.
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