The withering of cheque use in Australia is taking on a new dimension, with the value of cheques having "dropped by six per cent in 2016, after largely remaining flat in previous years," the Australian Payments Network said on Friday.The numbers of cheques used "plunged", as the APN put it, by 20 per cent to 111.6 million, which the association said was "the largest drop ever recorded."Over the last five years, cheque use has dropped by 56 per cent. The APN said 144.8 million fewer cheques were used in 2016 than were used over a 12 month period five years ago. In 2016 111.6 million cheques were issued - down from 256.4 million in 2011.The APN's 'Milestones" report on the digital economy is a survey of familiar trends on the decline of cash, as well as cheques, and the flourishing use of contactless payments.In 2016, the number of ATM withdrawals dropped by eight per cent to 648.5 million.  Over the last five years, ATM withdrawals have dropped by 22 per cent.By contrast "direct entry and card transactions show strong year-on-year growth as Australians choose digital payment methods," the APN said.Direct debit (and direct credit) transactions grew by nine per cent in 2016 to 3.5 billion.Debit card and credit card use increased 12 per cent over 2016, with 7.4 billion card transactions all up.