The trusty, old chequebook is on its way out. That is the message from the UK Payments Council, which announced in December last year that cheques will be phased out by October 2018.

However, the plans will only go ahead if suitable payment alternatives are developed and anyone with submissions for or against the withdrawal of cheques is therefore being urged to contact the Council over the next couple of weeks.

The deadline for submissions is midday on Monday March 1.

Personal cheque payment volumes reached a peak of 2.4 billion in 1990, and have since fallen steadily to just 663 million in 2008.

Meanwhile, many stores - including all the major UK supermarket chains - have already chosen to stop accepting cheques as the huge majority of shoppers now pay by cash, debit card or credit card.

But we are used to our chequebooks – the first cheque was written some 350 years ago – and many people use cheques for large payments such as rent and utility bills.

Everyday usage is also still common among some elements of society, with some elderly people still making payments by cheque on a weekly, if not daily, basis.

That is why the UK Payments Council has set a date so far in advance, as it needs to encourage the advance of other forms of payment before the cheque can be consigned to history.

"The goal is to ensure that by 2018 there is no scenario where customers, individuals or businesses, still need to use a cheque," the Payments Council said in a statement.

"The board will be especially concerned that the needs of elderly and vulnerable people are met."

The idea behind phasing out cheques is to replace them with a more efficient, non-paper based payment system.

Potential alternative payment methods include the usage of mobile phones and so-called contactless technology using high-tech chips.

However, charities representing older people argue that paper-based payments systems should still be made available for those who are not comfortable with new technology.

Andrew Harrop, of Age Concern and Help the Aged said: "The Payments Council needs to urgently come up with some practical alternatives to replace cheques or it will be condemning thousands of older people to extra worry, cost and financial insecurity."

Such concerns are also likely to be top of the list for members of the Treasury Committee, headed up by chairman John McFall, which is due to consider the issue in the next Parliament.

Its findings will by no means be the end of the line for cheques, however.

There will also be annual checks on the progress of other payments systems throughout the process, and a final review of the decision will be held in 2016.