Timaru District Council will stop accepting cheques from 21 May due to the phasing out of the service by New Zealand banks.

At the same time the council will be removing all transaction fees from online payments through its website at timaru.govt.nz/pay-online.

Council Chief Financial Officer, Azoora Ali said that with all major banks removing the use of cheques it was important to help people transition to other ways to pay.

“There’s more ways than ever to pay council, and our customer services staff are here to help anyone if they need help in moving away from cheques.

“We were already seeing a steep decline in cheque use over the past few years as banks work to move people to quicker and more convenient payment methods.

“As part of improving our payment options, we’re also removing another barrier for people to pay their rates online with a debit or credit card by removing the transaction fees that were charged by our previous provider.”

While council will no longer be accepting cheques, there are lots of other ways you can pay:

· Direct Credit via your internet or phone banking, our payment details are at the bottom of every invoice we issue.

· In person with cash, eftpos or credit card at the council offices or Temuka or Geraldine Library and Service Centres.

· Via our website at timaru.govt.nz/pay-online with a debit or credit card, and now without any transaction fees.

· Direct Debit can be set up for rates payments, where we take the required amount automatically.

For more information about payment methods visit timaru.govt.nz/cheques

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