The Payments Council, a 15-strong board of representatives from the banking industry, will meet on the 16 December to debate the issue and are widely expected to decide to phase out cheque payments by 2018, despite strong opposition from businesses and charities.

Cheque usage is falling by around 10% a year, however, almost 4m cheques are still written every day in the UK and many small businesses and charities remain heavily reliant on cheques.

Martin Ruda, chief executive of security printer Tall Group, said that, despite media reports to contrary, a ruling to phase out the centralised paper clearing system does not necessarily mean the end of cheque payments.

"It may be that an alternative way of processing cheque payments will be found. There are a number of benefits to cheque payments for small business, not least that accurate and detailed remittance information is contained within cheque payments," he said.

Andy Blundell, chief executive of direct mail specialist Communisis, agreed: "There are not yet clear alternatives to cheques and the business side of cheque usage is holding up. They are an effective brand vehicle for many companies."