Ireland remains one of a small few European countries which still uses cheques.
According to research carried out by the Central Bank Irish people come second to French for using the form of money as a regular payment.
In 2011 consumers accounted for nearly 30 million cheque payments.
Separate research carried out shows that elderly people and farmers are the highest users of the paper form of payment.
'Strong case to review how we make payments'
Ronnie O'Toole is Programme Manager of the National Payments Programme.
"Cheque usage in Ireland is still widespread by both consumers and business in comparison to other European countries" he said.
"In particular there is a strong case for businesses to review how they make payments".
"Although the level of usage has fallen in recent years our survey shows that business still accounts for a significant portion of cheques".
O'Toole says there is strong evidence that cheque usage is a significant contributor to Ireland's 'late payment' culture.
"Unless we move from the 'cheque in the post' culture, the problem of late payments will remain" he added.
A European Central Bank (ECB) study estimates that a cheque costs around €3.55 when all costs are included.
