A recently released report reveals that Canadians have left more than $2 billion in paper cheques from the federal government uncashed.

The document, released in response to questions raised in the House of Commons, was signed by Jenna Sudds, parliamentary secretary to Joël Lightbound, the minister of government transformation, public works and procurement. It confirmed that nearly four million mailed government cheques totalling $2,159,665,155 remain uncashed.

The cheques include $92.7 million in pension plan payments, $11.8 million in employment insurance , $72.8 in Old Age Security and $15.766 million in public service pension. Sudds’ report said that direct deposit is the payment method of choice for the Government of Canada as it is secure, reliable and cheaper than other forms of payment.

It costs the government around $1.835 to issue a cheque, it said.

“Public Services and Procurement Canada promotes the benefits of direct deposit to departments and agencies as well as to recipients. However, it is ultimately the responsibility of each department or agency to work with their payment recipients to transition away from cheques,” the report stated.

The document also revealed that the government has considered creating a prepaid card program in the past, although it was deemed to be less cost-effective than direct deposit.

It also said public opinion research done in 2017 and 2020 concluded that a significant majority of Canadians who still receive payments from the government by cheque would not be receptive to receiving payments via prepaid card.

“As Canada’s payment ecosystem continues to evolve, the Receiver General will keep exploring and adopting new payment methods as they become available,” said Sudds’ report.

Any new payment method would be adopted only after a thorough cost-benefit analysis, it said, including an assessment of whether widespread adoption by Canadians would justify the investment required for implementation.

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