James Daley: Who cares if cheques become extinct?

There has been a lot of sentimental fuss about the "death of cheques" over the past week, following Marks & Spencer's decision to stop accepting them in their stores. Quite why this seems to wind some people up so much, I'm not sure. If you're still relying on chequebooks to make regular purchases in the 21st century, it's surely time to change.

The history of cheque dates back somewhere into Roman times – at least 1,800 years before the introduction of Chip & PIN and electronic banking systems. Happily, these technological advances have now all but done away with the need for good old-fashioned chequebooks, just as CD players and then MP3 eliminated the need for tapes, and matches did away with the need to light fires by rubbing twigs together.

M&S is simply the latest in a long line of retailers – including Boots, Argos, Sainsbury's, Next (the list goes on) – to stop accepting cheques, and I imagine that many more will follow in years to come. Personally, I wouldn't mind if my bank took away my chequebook altogether – I very rarely use it. Sadly, however, predictions of the imminent death of cheques are probably still a bit premature.

In practice, there are still one or two instances where it can be easier to use a cheque than any other payment method – paying the pizza delivery guy or the plumber, for example, or sending birthday money to your relatives. And while the banking industry is working hard to come up with simpler ways to carry out these transactions, its current offerings are not quite there yet.

Pre-paid gift cards, for example, are one recent innovation which allow relatives to send cash safely through the post. The sender loads up the card with money, and the recipient simply activates the card with a special code once they receive it. Then it's off to the shops, where the card can be used just like a normal debit card, until all the cash has been used up.

While these not a bad idea, they're far less environmentally sound than cheques, and probably involve just a bit too much hassle to ever catch on in a big way. The banks might want to take a leaf out of my 86-year-old grandma's book. She's been popping down to HSBC on my birthday for the past 10 years, paying money directly into my account, and sending me the paying-in slip through the mail.

When it comes to the pizza delivery guy and plumber, the solution may be much closer. The banks have already created portable Chip & PIN devices, which have a wireless modem and can be used anywhere. Once these are rolled out, I don't imagine that I'll ever write another cheque again.

But in the supermarkets and high street shops, I just can't understand why anyone would still use a cheque. You have to have your debit card with you to guarantee it – so why not save yourself the hassle and just use your piece of plastic to pay?

If you're going to write and tell me that you find it easier to keep tab of your spending with cheques, then why not go out and buy yourself a little cash book, where you can write down every transaction. It'll work just as well – and you won't have to hold up the rest of the shopping line while you do it.

Can't remember your PIN? Then create a simple one. Surely you can remember your mother or father's birthday. Or how about 9999? How hard can it be?

It's natural to be resistant to change – I spent years refusing to get a mobile phone, insisting that they'd never catch on. Now I can't live without one. Similarly, debit and credit cards have superseded the need for cheques. They're safer, simpler and here to stay. Rather than write me a letter to tell me you disagree, why not spend half an hour learning all about Chip & PIN (www.chipandpin.co.uk).

j.daley@independent.co.uk