BANK note printer De La Rue has blamed growing reliance on credit and debit cards for forcing it to axe two factories at a cost of 200 jobs.

The company said it was closing its Byfleet plant in Surrey and was looking to sell its Peterborough factory, after demand for UK personal cheques and vouchers slumped.

De La Rue has already had to close its security products business in High Wycombe and earlier this year it announced 300 redundancies in its cash systems division, with a further 50 job cuts at its Dallas and Lisbon manufacturing sites.

De La Rue's chief executive, Ian Much, said that increased use of credit cards, debit cards and direct debit payments had sparked an annual decline of five to seven per cent in the personal cheque business.