Even in this day and age, the day when money can be transferred same day, PayPal accounts are overflowing with orders, you would be surprised at the amount of people who still like to pay by good old fashioned cheque. Even though cheques are perhaps the slowest form of payment, not to mention the increased risk of fraud, should you accommodate such customers?

While it does really depend what size of a business you are, and whether you can actually afford to turn away that type of business, you should really consider it. But also consider this, the whole process of payment by cheque is slow and more expensive to you. You have extra time for your staff opening envelopes, extra time going to the bank and extra time matching the cheque against an order. For this reason many sites who accept cheques will charge a fee on top, to cover extra handling costs, etc. But would a customer really pay this?

The idea is that if a customer really wants to pay by cheque, you are offering that option, even if you need to add a couple of pounds on top. If they have got to the payment stage, the chances are that they have decided to buy from you already and a small surcharge will not make a difference. However, if they do not want to pay a surcharge this will encourage them to use an online system, credit or debit card - which is exactly what you want!

In many cases the acceptance of cheques now a days is only superficial, and a way to grab your customer and try to shepherd them down a different route. If they do decide to pay by cheque, then so be it, but at least you have a new customer.