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# More evidence of the painful death of cheques
- URL: https://www.benchmarkanalytics.com.au/more-evidence-of-the-painful-death-of-cheques/
- Published: 2026-08-07T02:03:04.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-23T06:53:27.000Z
- Author: Nick Hossack
- Tags: Payments, #payments

The latest Reserve Bank payments data provide further evidence that cheques are next to extinct as a payment instrument in Australia.

In June 2026, Australians made just 0.6 million cheque payments. That compares with 1.414 billion card purchases — including 1.084 billion debit card transactions — and 173.6 million New Payments Platform (NPP) transactions.

Put another way, there were around 2,356 card transactions for every cheque payment during the month. Against the combined total of card, the NPP, ATM and cheque transactions, cheques accounted for around 0.04% — and against NPP transactions alone, cheque volumes were equivalent to just 0.35%.

Cheque payment numbers fell 3.0% in June and were 27.3% lower than a year earlier. By contrast, NPP transaction volumes increased 14.0% over the year, while card purchases increased 3.8%.

Cheques, however, do still carry a disproportionate share of value: $11.6 billion was transferred by cheque in June. But this reflects the high average value of the small number of cheques still in use. See more information below.

| Retail Payments — Number of Transactions (Million) |          |             |                |
| -------------------------------------------------- | -------- | ----------- | -------------- |
| Payment method                                     | Jun 2026 | Monthly (%) | Year-ended (%) |
| ATM withdrawals                                    | 28.0     | \-0.2%      | \-1.8%         |
| Total card purchases                               | 1,413.8  | +0.8%       | +3.8%          |
| — Credit & charge cards                            | 330.3    | \-1.2%      | +1.5%          |
| — Debit cards                                      | 1,083.6  | +1.4%       | +4.6%          |
| NPP transactions                                   | 173.6    | +0.6%       | +14.0%         |
| Cheque payments                                    | 0.6      | \-3.0%      | \-27.3%        |
| Card transactions per cheque payment               | ≈2,356   | —           | —              |
| Cheques as % of card + NPP + ATM + cheque          | ≈0.04%   | —           | —              |
| Cheques as % of NPP alone                          | ≈0.35%   | —           | —              |
| Total electronic (card + NPP + ATM)                | 1,615.4  | —           | —              |

| Retail Payments — Value of Transactions ($ billion) |          |             |                |
| --------------------------------------------------- | -------- | ----------- | -------------- |
| Payment method                                      | Jun 2026 | Monthly (%) | Year-ended (%) |
| ATM withdrawals                                     | 9.4      | \-0.1%      | +2.7%          |
| Total card purchases                                | 100.0    | +0.5%       | +6.9%          |
| — Credit & charge cards                             | 40.0     | \-1.7%      | +3.8%          |
| — Debit cards                                       | 60.1     | +1.9%       | +9.1%          |
| NPP transactions                                    | 265.8    | +4.1%       | +33.5%         |
| Cheque payments                                     | 11.6     | +1.0%       | \-13.8%        |