Transfer money by emailing photograph of cheques to banks

The change is expected to be implemented as early as next year, would speed up deposits but they dismiss fears it paves the way to scrapping cheques,Officials said.

According to the Daily Express, with payments of nearly 840billion pounds made by cheques processed in the UK last year, a pensioners' charity has called for a guarantee that cheques will not be phased out.

Caroline Abrahams of Age UK said that it is essential that the new processing systems are secure and the option of paying in face to face at a bank or post office remains available to anyone who prefers to bank that way.

Meanwhile, business and consumer groups have welcomed the plan as many find the current process frustratingly slow.

Key option enables banks to process images of cheques rather than paper with technology widely used in the US. Consumers could be allowed to snap picture of a cheque via their phone camera and sent it as an email or a text message to their bank, The report said