ARE we really thinking things through to make sure we are making the right decisions? I suppose I should be able to understand that not using cheques is convenient and better, but I cannot see that using cheques has not been safe and reliable. For years my husband wrote his cheques to pay for the delivery of things such as gas, and I would be given the job of driving down to Walu Bay to present the cheque at the Fiji Gas Office and bring home the receipt for his records. This was enjoyable. I would have a good chat with the girls in the showroom and look longingly at some of the new devices on offer! That showroom has gone now and there is a cafeteria in its place! Now when the gas is delivered the driver takes the cash while the men replace the used cylinder with a full one. How long will this last?
However, cheques are still used, and needed, by some NGOs. These cheques can be for quite large amounts. If there are several staff members planning a trip through the villages in a rural area then there is preparation needed. Costs will include transport, that may also include boat trips, protocol for entering the villages, meals to pay for. These will all require cash. The Finance Officer enquired about the future and has been told by the Bank: “Use M.Paisa or Mycash” but this will not work everywhere, then “use the ATM”. Really?! In the mountains of Ra or in Wainunu? So this may require more than one trip to the nearest ATM before leaving Suva. This can take up time that could be more profitably spent, remember we are using donor money.
Reading in the The Fiji Times about the recent report by the Consumer Council on the provision of Digital Financial Services it is obvious that we are trying to run before we can walk. Concerns about security are confirmed by the many cases of people losing money through their MPaisa or MyCash. Are these cases all caused by people following up on scams? Surely Fiji people are more intelligent, or has the general grasp for more money got the better of us? There is so much more to life than money. We have rich cultures that we seem to be casting aside.
Cheques were a safe, secure way of making payment. Yes, it had a number, but also the signature – something making human contact in this artificial world we are building. We seem to be forgetting the importance of our human life in this rush to become part of a technological jungle. What is the future of those gatherings when important dignitaries sign declarations or agreements with great solemnity, and usually the inevitable rich decorated cake (that does not help our race to beat NCDs)? If signatures on cheques go., will these grandiose occasions go and some behind the scenes internet transaction take their place?
Internet banking is being pushed. How safe is this? Each transaction has to be confirmed, reconfirmed and then re-confirmed again. What a fuss. Sign the cheque, hand it over and the transaction is done.
I read that Manoa Kamikamica, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Communications, is calling for more innovation in this world of mystery to many of us. Please put the foot on the brake, just a little!
I admit that I am old and will not be around for many more years with my old-fashioned ways, but I cannot see any really good reasons for throwing away ideas and methods of payment that have stood the test of time.
So I make my plea to those with the authority and the power to make decisions: “We do need our cheque books, there are so useful and safe, so please think again”.
- TESSA MACKENZIE is a regular contributor to this newspaper. The views expressed are hers and do not necessarily reflect the views of this newspaper.
