Cheque Usage in Hong Kong Faces Sharp Decline

Cheque usage in Hong Kong is rapidly shrinking, with both paper and electronic formats recording double-digit drops in recent years.

According to the FIAKS e-Bulletin Issue 6.0, the volume of paper cheques fell 18.40% between 2021 and 2024, totaling 55.81 million transactions. E-Cheque usage dropped even more steeply—down 20.68% to just 0.35 million transactions.

Experts cited in the bulletin stress that this isn’t just a short-term dip, but a structural shift in payment behavior.

This decline is far sharper than the 16% fall recorded in 2016, and the contraction is accelerating compared to previous decades. While cheques have been overtaken by digital payment methods, they still serve niche purposes and remain legally and operationally supported by banks.

Paper cheques, in particular, are holding on only in areas where trust, inclusion, or regulation favor a tangible, bank-issued promise. Even in markets where cheques survive, their role is increasingly narrow.

The trend is global. In the United States, cheque volumes and values are falling by more than 7% each year, pushing them toward the “museum of once-ubiquitous payment methods.” In India, cheque payments now account for less than 3% of all retail payment transactions by volume.

Cheques are not disappearing overnight—but for low-value and retail payments, their days as a mainstream method are clearly numbered.