Editing Cheque (section)

=== Canada ===
In Canada, cheques standards and processing are overseen by [[Payments Canada]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Paying by Cheque|url=https://www.payments.ca/paying-cheque |publisher=Payments Canada |date=8 August 2016 |access-date=26 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Standard 006 – Specifications for MICR-Encoded Payment Items|url=https://www.payments.ca/sites/default/files/standard-006_1.pdf |publisher=Canadian Payments Association |year=2015 |access-date=26 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161127085005/https://www.payments.ca/sites/default/files/standard-006_1.pdf|archive-date=27 November 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Canadian cheques can legally be written in English, French or [[Inuktitut]]. For a period Canada also had a tele-cheque, which was a paper payment item that resembles a cheque except that it is neither created nor signed by the payer—instead it is created (and may be signed) by a third party on behalf of the payer. Under CPA Rules these were prohibited in the clearing system effective 1 January 2004.<ref>{{cite web|title=Prohibition of Tele-cheques in the Automated Clearing Settlement System|url=https://www.payments.ca/sites/default/files/prohibition_of_telecheques_in_the_acss.pdf |publisher=Payments Canada |date=1 June 2003 |access-date=26 November 2016}}</ref>

Canada's usage of cheques is less than that of the US and has been declining rapidly at the urging of the Canadian Banking Association since 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |title=B2B and Mobile Payments: The Road Ahead |date=7 June 2012 |publisher=Canadian Bankers Association |url=http://www.cba.ca/b2b-mobile-payments |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118054145/http://www.cba.ca/b2b-mobile-payments |archive-date=18 January 2017 |access-date=17 January 2017}}</ref> The Government of Canada claims it is 6.5 times more expensive to mail a cheque than to make a direct deposit. The Canadian Payments Association reported that in 2012, cheque use in Canada accounted for only 40% of total financial transactions.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 2012 |title=Examining Canadian Payment Methods and Trends |url=http://www.cdnpay.ca/imis15/pdf/pdfs_publications/examining_canadian_payment_report_2012.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193311/http://www.cdnpay.ca/imis15/pdf/pdfs_publications/examining_canadian_payment_report_2012.pdf |archive-date=29 October 2013 |access-date=24 October 2013 |publisher=Canadian Payment Association}}</ref> The [[Interac]] system, which allows instant fund transfers via [[Smart card|chip]] or [[magnetic strip]] and [[Personal identification number|PIN]], is widely used by merchants to the point that few brick and mortar merchants accept cheques.

The Canadian government began phasing out all government cheques from April 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2020-05-19 |title=Canadian Government is Phasing Out Printed Cheques |url=https://businesschief.com/corporate-finance/canadian-government-phasing-out-printed-cheques |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=businesschief.com |language=en}}</ref>