AIB chequebook deliveries 'from this week'

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The bank confirmed to the Farming Independent it found a new print supplier for cheques after its previous supplier recently went into administration.

“Some customers may have experienced a temporary delay in the issuance of their chequebooks and we apologise for any inconvenience caused,” it said.

“The delivery of AIB cheque books to our customers recommences from February 12. For orders up to February 1 customers should receive their books towards the end of that week, with normal service resuming.”

However, ICSA beef chair John Cleary said AIB customers could be waiting weeks before they receive a new chequebook.

“This situation is not only inconvenient, but poses a significant challenge for farmers across Ireland who heavily rely on cheques in their day-to-day business operations,” he said.

“This was an easily foreseeable issue, and it is just not good enough that the bank has allowed the situation to deteriorate to this extent.

“Cheques play a crucial role in facilitating transactions within the farming sector where cash-flow management and timely payments are essential for the viability of farming operations.

“This is particularly the case for farm-to-farm transactions when buying livestock or feed, and for paying agricultural contractors for silage and slurry jobs.

“The inability to obtain replacement chequebooks not only disrupts these essential transactions, but also hampers farmers’ ability to conduct business efficiently.”

He also said it was simply not a solution to ask farmers to use alternative online methods.

“Even people who are very familiar with computerised payments find them far from user-friendly.” he said.

“Then there is also the issue of broadband reliability in many rural parts to contend with.”