Important changes to cheques
The use of paper cheques has significantly declined in Australia, with the Australian Payments Network reporting that cheque use has dropped by 83% over the last 10 years. With the Covid-19 pandemic accelerating the use of digital banking and the decline of paper payment methods, electronic payment alternatives are being utilised.
Like many banks, Australian Military Bank (AMB) uses the services of a third-party payments aggregator to process cheques. Our provider recently announced that due to this lessening demand, alongside increasing costs, they will no longer be able to offer a cheque processing service.
From 29 March 2024, the following changes to cheque services will apply:
- AMB will no longer be issuing bank cheques
- Cheques will no longer be able to be deposited over the counter in AMB branches
- Existing AMB cheque books will no longer be able to be used (and new cheque books cannot be ordered)
- Any unused cheque books in your possession should be destroyed
You will still be able to deposit a cheque into your AMB account by using the Bank@Post cheque deposit service for free via the Australia Post Network. Please visit the Bank@Post website to find your closest participating post office, and refer to our Cheque FAQs for further information about the service.
To support our member's needs, we do have a range of digital alternatives to cheques, including:
- Credit and debit cards
- Electronic funds transfer (EFT) via internet banking and the AMB mobile app
- Direct Debit – Setting up regular bills using your account number and BSB to debit your account
- BPAY – Paying your bills using a BPAY biller code
- PayID – Sending and Receiving payments using your mobile number or email address
- PayTo – for real time direct debit payments
We understand these changes may be hard to navigate and inconvenient. If you have any questions, please visit a branch or call our team on 1300 13 23 28 (Monday to Friday 8am-6pm and Saturday 9am - 12pm AEST).