Last day for cheques this Friday

Residents will no longer be able to pay by cheque at Waipā District Council after this Friday.

Council announced the decision in March, joining New Zealand banks and other organisations nationwide in removing cheques as a payment option.

Finance Manager Sarah Davies said the number of customers using cheques had been steadily declining for a number of years.

“We chose 30 April as the final date for paying cheques because New Zealand’s largest bank, ANZ, is ceasing to take cheques from 31 May. We didn’t want to add any confusion around timeframes for paying by cheque,” she said.

Davies acknowledged removing the option to pay by cheque may be a challenge for some residents, but wanted to reassure the community that Council want to help residents ease through the transition.

“We encourage residents to get in touch with our friendly staff for assistance. We provide a variety of payment options to suit individual preferences and can assist in setting these up.
“We are offering sessions at each of our Waipā District Libraries to anyone who would like to enhance their general computer skills with our outreach librarians. These sessions would be perfect for people who want to become more confident using online banking,” she added.
Both the Te Awamutu and Cambridge libraries offer free digital skills training through the Digital Steps (Stepping Up) programme, which was established nationwide in 2009 to support adults to build their digital skills in small easy steps.
For more information on the Stepping Up programme, visit www.waipalibraries.org.nz or head into one of the Libraries in Cambridge or Te Awamutu.