the forthcoming demise of the cheque.

Regarding cheque payments and their forthcoming demise - which is a serious problem for local councils and charities whose articles of association dictate they must have two signatures for every payment.
The law will be changed and until it is they say it is down to individual councils to find ways of dealing with the situation.

I suggest that a payment card or credit card may be used providing the clerk has a numbered form, signed by two as now, filled in approving a payment, either with the exact amount or a No More Than specified for each usage. These forms would be filed as legal documents in the same way as cheque stubs are now, but with the serial number of the form listed in place of the cheque number as we do now. Reconciliation of payments would be made in the same way as current account reconciliations are now. These Electronic Payment Approval Forms (EPAFs) may be the system for the future of parish councils and charities. It is possible we need to design a form and pay attention to possibilities of fraudulent usage, though I see little opportunity for that happening. It also needs to have a name that gives us a catchier acronym.

Preventing a fictitious rogue clerk or charity tearsurer somewhere in the future taking advantage of any payment system needs to be tested.