In a boon to electronic payments UK banks are likely to vote to abolish cheques next month.

The Payments Council - whose members consist of the major banks - is meeting on 16 December to discuss the future use of cheques. The banks are widely expected to scrap them by 2018 at the latest.

The Payments Council had previously suggested this timeframe, but the banks may well decide to bring the date forward, taking into account the continuing major demise of UK cheque use.

Payments clearing body Apacs says retail cheque use fell over 4% between 2007 and 2008, with a further big fall predicted for this year too. A number of supermarkets and other retail chains have already stopped taking cheques.

An announcement on the confirmed cheque scrapping date is expected in January.

The banks reckon they will save hundreds of millions of pounds a year by adopting purely electronic payment methods. But the end of cheques will mean utility companies and tradesmen - common recipients of cheques - will have to adapt their payment systems to cope. Most taxpayers not taxed at source also still currently pay their tax to HMRC by cheque.

The Payments Council has already said it wants an end to the Cheque Guarantee Card scheme by 2011, as most current cheque payments are well above the £100 guarantee limit found on most cheque cards still in circulation. Most bank cards are now debit cards protected by a PIN.

The Payments Council said it was committed to further consultation with other groups and users about the scrapping of cheques.