In Portugal, the way they make payments have changed quickly with the help of people’s technology and new choices. What was often used in a while, today it is almost no longer seen in the daily life of the Portuguese.
Is accentuated not use
According to Banco de Portugal, one of the oldest forms of payment used in the country registered a minimum use in 2024. According to the same source, only two out of 1,000 payments made in the national territory resorted to this medium, which demonstrates a marked break and a clear tendency for its disappearance.
Checks today represent an almost imperceptible fraction of the total payments in Portugal. As the Banco de Portugal indicated, its use has been continuously decreasing, becoming increasingly rare in the daily life of consumers.
Transformations in the habits of the Portuguese
According to Banco de Portugal, “the way we pay is changing” and checks are no longer part of the most common payment methods. The preference for digital solutions has led to its progressive replacement, both between individuals and companies.
The data now revealed by the bank supervisor show that this behavior change has been accentuated in recent years, with checks to be used only in very specific situations.
Impact on banking structure
The increasingly reduced use of checks also has implications for banking services. According to Banco de Portugal, the processing of this means of payment involves high costs, both at the level of verification and transportation and compensation.
This decline has led financial institutions to reevaluate the continuity of some services associated with checks, chantering resources to more modern and efficient methods.
Marginal gift, uncertain future
Although they are still legally available, checks are little used today. According to the same source, the few users who still resort to this method are mostly in higher age groups or in lower digital access.
Banco de Portugal points out that there is no forecast for its official withdrawal, but everything points to a continuation of its disuse in the coming years.
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Global decline
This reality is not exclusive to Portugal. Banco de Portugal states that the use of checks has also been disappearing in several European countries, as part of a global trend of modernization of payment systems.
In some regions, as in the Nordic countries, checks are no longer even accepted as a form of payment, confirming their obsolescence on the international scale.
Bet on digitization
Given this transformation, it has been betting on safer and more affordable digital payment methods. The entity has promoted solutions such as immediate transfers and payments for mobile application, with the objective of modernizing the system.
According to the same source, these initiatives have contributed to reducing dependence on traditional means such as checks, whose use has been losing relevance.
On the way to the disappearance
The 2024 numbers confirm the trend. With less than 0.2% of the total payments to be made by check, this method is increasingly absent from the Portuguese daily life. According to Banco de Portugal, it seems that the checks are effectively extinct in Portugal.
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