Banks in the UK have revealed plans to allow their customers to deposit money using photos of the cheques taken through smartphones.
The move is expected to cut a number of paper transactions and speed up money transfers as it allows customers to send the cheques electronically instead of going to bank directly.
The UK has also passed a new legislation, the Check 21, to facilitate the electronic processing of the cheques.
Under the law, the photos related to the transaction would not be stored on the phone in order to avoid any security risk in case the phone is stolen.
Treasury Financial Secretary Sajid Javid said the government is determined to create a banking sector that works for consumers and serves businesses.
"We want to see more innovation so that customers see the benefits of new technologiesm," Javid added.
"That is why we’re creating a new payments regulator and why we are going to consult on speeding up the cheque clearing process."
