French tax authorities considering phasing out payment by cheque
Le Monde
reported.
"There is no set date," the DGFIP (
Direction générale des finances publiques
) specified, but Le Monde reported that discussions on the subject were expected to continue in the autumn.
Le Monde also reported that fiscal authorities were considering closing their last cheque processing centre, located in Rennes in western France, in 2027. However, fiscal authorities declined to confirm this report.
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As things stand, cheques remain a valid means of payment for taxes or fines in France, but their usage has dropped by 72 percent in the last 10 years.
READ MORE:
Explained: How to challenge a French tax bill
Additionally, cheques represent the payment method with the highest rate of fraud, making it costly for fiscal authorities to proces them.
The decrease in cheque usage dropped 20 percent during the first four months of 2024, Le Monde reported, with only 4.5 percent of payments to the French treasury made via cheque.
Overall, French people have begun shifting away from cash and cheques. The country has seen 1,500 ATMs closed in the last year, according to the Banque de France.
As of 2024, cheques represented less than three percent of non-cash transactions in France, compared to 37 percent in 2000, according to Le Monde.
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