analog

I'm floored by people who insist on writing checks for everything and anything. They're the least secure method of payment next to "I'll come back with cash if you let me leave with this product now".

I know plenty of people who still use the pocket registers to keep track of their purchases, and still balance the "check book", but use the card to make the transaction. I've not heard of a bank or credit union, no matter how small, that doesn't have a "check card" that associates to your checking account so you can use it electronically rather than writing a check.

There's no reason to use a check anymore- they waste a ton of time, and paper, and resources, and only create problems because of the risk of fraud and bounced checks.

That, and most retailers now have the technology that verifies a check for authenticity and that the account is in good standing (not that the money is even there, just that the account is open and isn't suspended due to negative balance already) which is much more expensive than debit/credit transaction fees to the retailer, and does the same job as using the "check card" attached to the same bank account.

The economic impact is huge. You've got the resources at the banks to go through all these unnecessary paper checks, likewise at retailers (especially the bigger ones who can end up with a few hundered checks in a day) where a person has to go through every point of sale and hand-verify each check is there, and the amount is correct, etc. Then, they still have to track these useless pieces of paper like they're cash, hoping they actually work out to be worth money (they don't bounce).

Checks should only be used for private transfers (as in, not "business") of monies from one person to another, or when sending a check someplace that will clear the check before you receive the product/service, and for making payments (which is the same thing... you're sending it off and they clear the check before anything concrete happens).

So how many of you still use checks for those day-to-day purchases... (option 1) the grocery store, pharmacy, walmart and their ilk, etc., and how many just use the check whenever you absolutely have to... (option 2) like sending a check off to pay a bill that doesn't take billing online, or giving someone you know some money by writing them a check, or giving a check to the girlscout down the street to stake claim on an oder of Thin Mints?

And perhaps even more importantly, if you do still use them for everything.... WHY????

Cynthetiq

If my bank was still charging me fees for using the electronic checking portion of the service spectrum such as $.30 for each transaction then I would be writing checks still. I never balanced my checkbook register once in my life. I couldn't be bothered with the minutae detail of pennies.

I hate the fact that banks are profit centers now and do not encourage savings of any sort by nickel and diming one into oblivion.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

cyrnel

Hell yes. Friends and I even buy checks in bulk so we can play poker with them.

Ante up! ... I'll raise you a quarter. Wait a minute while I fill this in...

But seriously, I do use them for business. The accounting is stupid-simple, no mystery charges or shenanigans, and the float covers a significant portion of my inventory churn. I prefer to look at the large numbers over a long term vs. the many small charges. At the end of a year it adds up. Checks still provide a financial benefit when used carefully.

I wouldn't cry if checks vanished tomorrow, for everyone, but so long as other people use them for float off my goods and services, I'll keep working it from my end.

Edit: I do have a friend who fits the bad side of choice #1. He buys everything with checks. Dinner, gasoline, $2 drinks. It freaks me out.

__________________
There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195

lindalove

I do. I pay all my bills with checks as I like a paper trail. Far too many businesses have tried the "Oh, we never recieved your payment" bullshit with me only to find that the check was cashed weeks before.

Then there is the simple fact that I have little faith in online banking. Since the banking online boom, I've gotten atleast 5 notices from my bank stating that somebody got into their system.

People are more at risk for being ripped off due to indentity theft than with a paper check. Most places cash checks electronically, so if people are writing bad checks, they are going to deal with overwithdrawl fees and everything else.

It's no worse than people that like to overdraw on their debit cards.

In terms of ecomonics, paper checks are the least of the problems.

I cannot find the article I read a few weeks ago, but banks like Country Wide are over 40 billion dollars in debt because people cannot make the minimum payment on their interest only mortages. Washington Mutual isn't far behind. Wall Street likes to play it's number games by absorbing these figures to make the housing market look better than what it really is.

So compared to that, for the 2 minutes it takes for a human to scan my check, it's really not a big deal.

Xazy

I have used them for business only.

Psycho Dad

I still use money orders. Not for myself but my dad. All my payments are made electronically and purchases are made with a Visa check card.

However in the last year, my dad has got to the point that I have to make his payments for him. He is 80 years old and has never had a checking account. He has always used money orders and will not change. So while all my payments are point and click, I still have the chore of going to the bank and buying money orders, addressing envelopes, buying stamps and mailing bills.

__________________
Don't always trust the opinions of experts.

warrrreagl

Grancey writes checks every month to pay bills, but that's about it.

At one time, we were considering having our gas utility bill automatically deducted from our account - seemed simple enough. Then, we got a monthly bill for over $3,000 (it's normally about $80). It turns out that they had swapped out the old gas meter for a new one and there was a HUGE discrepancy between the last reading on the old meter and the new reading on the new one. It took WEEKS for them to straighten out their own mistake. All we could think of was THANK GOD we hadn't switched to automatic bill pay, because the $3,000 would have been sucked right out of the account and we wouldn't have known anything was wrong until the overdraft fees started piling up by the hundreds. WHEW!

__________________
Living is easy with eyes closed.

Meditrina

We write checks for the monthly bills, but day-to-day purchases we use the check card. Some places don't take the check card, like my daughter's dance center.

__________________
"Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles." ~Alex Karras

flstf

I still write checks for most household bills, electricity, gas, insurance, etc... and use credit card and cash for most retail purchases. It only takes a few hours each month and the on-line banking site is still too flaky especially with my ISP service out here in the country.

I used to use the automatic deduction payment method for some bills but found out that is is easy to get them to start deducting and not so easy sometimes to get them to stop.

Charlatan

I rarely use them. The only regular cheque I know that gets written at home is the one we give my daughter's daycare and the only one I write here is for rent.

Other than that, I only see them when I get paid (no direct deposit).

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

BadNick

I write checks so rarely that when I must do it, I am usually delayed in getting it done. Otherwise, I use direct debit as much as possible for monthly bills, direct deposit for income, and debit card for purchases. I didn't even have a credit card until last month when I got one just for the hell of it but I will hardly, if ever, use it. There are still a couple of bills I can't pay any way other than check ...e.g. township sewer bill/tax, traffic violation I got last week.

Craven Morehead

Pretty much only use checks for bill payment. The paper trail is with checks until recently was better than any other form of payment.

However, checks are frequently being turned into electronic transactions by the company receiving them and the paper item is 'killed' at that time. The electronic transaction is then sent through the Federal Reserve ACH system, eventually posting against your account. You may see it with the term ARC appearing on your statement. Stands for Account Receivable check conversion. The item is cleared as an ACH item and your bank handles it a little differently. There are different regulations that banks must follow regarding your rights in disputing payments that are paper vs. electronic. You're protected in either case, the method are different, though. Also it takes less time for an ACH item to be presented to you bank than the equivalent paper item. Less float.

Float? Forget about it. Within three years, if not sooner, nearly every check in the US will no longer physically be presented to your bank for posting. Instead an image of the check will be transmitted to your bank for posting. What once took three days to post will now take one. This is an outgrowth of Check 21 from 2 years ago. Most banks are image enabled today, most are moving towards image exchange. Check 21 is an outgrowth of 9-11 (a whole diffrent story for a different time).

Electronic bill payment - many banks offer this as a service with their internet banking. Most don't charge. But it is pretty expensive for the bank to offer and so far the volume of transactions have been disappointing. Ironically, up until a few years ago, most of these payments were eventually paid by check! The reason: this is a pay anybody system. You can send $50 to your nephew for graduating from high school. Unless you know his bank's routing number and his checking account number (assuming he has one) there is no other way to deliver the payment than by check. Also many companies could not integrate these payments when posted to their checking account with their accounts receivable system after the fact. Usually the payment is posted to account receivables then deposited to their checking account. The other issue with bill pay is the float days that banks impose. That the number of days in advance of the payment date that the funds are withdrawn from your account. In some cases an excessive amount of time is used (gotta pay for this service somehow) and that is detrimental to its acceptance.

highthief

I use them primarily for paying my daughter's daycare, and also at one particular shop we go to where they don't have debit or credit cards, but it is about the last place around here where you can still go in, pick up merchandise, and come back later with the cash (or pay by cheque).

__________________
Si vis pacem parabellum.

snowy

I write one check every month for rent.

That's about it. Everything else we pay direct from a bank account or with the debit card, bills-wise.

Even my parents don't send me checks anymore--they call for my account number and just deposit it at their local branch of my bank.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Rohwer

I write them for anything that you cannot pay online. I would rather send a check then waste gas driving aorund town to use my credit card. But everthing i can use my cc for i will use it.

Jove

I go through the same process as onesnowyowl. Although, I revised your statement.

warrrreagl

Actually, that reminds me that we kind of do both. Those of you who know us won't be surprised to know that we find romance in unusual ways, and we've always found it to be romantic to physically drive around town and pay bills in person. We've always done it for as long as we've been together.

Some bills have to be mailed, but there are about 6 of them that are right there in town. So rather than waste stamps, we waste gas. We drive place to place - talking, listening to music, laughing at other drivers, dreaming our future, getting snacks - and I drop the checks into the night deposit drop. It's always daytime, but it would ruin our "flow" for me to go inside and have to deal with another human, so I just drop it off and away we go.

That single act of paying bills in person is the symbolic "closing of the books" for us each month, and we consider ourselves "done" with bills for another month. I think we actually look forward to it.

If the banks did away with checks, we'd be sad.

__________________
Living is easy with eyes closed.

Glory's Sun

My wife writes checks for all the bills. I hate it. Just set it up so the card is drafted when it needs to be. It's not like you can't go online and see what's going on.

Now in the business we still use checks for some things. We're about 50/50 at checks/electronic medium but that's because the big boss is old school ..

gal

Being European, I can vaguely remember seeing a check book 15 years ago. I'm 29 and I've never owned a check book. With regard to banking services, I think USA is the most backward western country I've ever visited.

magictoy

I still write checks, although the number is dwindling.

1. Because, as someone said earlier, some companies aren't careful about the amount they automatically withdraw. Some are slow to cancel an account. (AOL, anyone?)

2. I write checks to the IRS and the state. They're sent return receipt requested, but I don't print the bar code on the envelope. I always hope the US Postal service will, in its own unique way, take their time about delivering them.

3. Countrywide is a pain in the ass. I have a rental property financed through them (but not by choice--the #$%^ original company sold my mortgage to them). So whenever the tenant is late with the rent, a not unusual event, I can't get their check cleared fast enough for Countrywide. They start charging for electronic payments after the 6th. I don't know of another mortgage company that does that. They even called me once to bitch about the fact that they usually get paid by me around the fifth, but they want it by the first (penalty date is the 15th). Times must be tough at Countrywide.

When I can't get the rent check cleared by the sixth, I mail the bastards a check, because I'm not going to pay $5 for the privilege of paying electronically.

4. Workmen who repair your house tend to want a check upon completion of the work.

Other than that, I have a folder in my web browser, with subfolders labeled "First" and "Fifteenth." That makes it pretty easy to click off payments on time, without forgetting any.

liquidlight

This is a personal pet peeve of mine, for some reason I find it to borderline on offensive that someone would waste my time because they're tied to an outdated and archaic mode of payment.

I wouldn't mind so much, but invariably when I get stuck in line at the store behind these people they wait until AFTER everything has been wrung up and the cashier gives them the total BEFORE they put so much as the date on the damn check! Then after they spend an ungodly amount of time scratching out all those little lines they make everybody stand there longer while they fill the entire thing into the check register! And like previous posters mentioned, most of these retailers simply convert the check to an EFT and hand you the paper back! What the hell was the freaking point of that entire rigamarole?! [/rant]

To borrow a phrase from Dane Cook "No, no. . . you know what?! @$#% CHECKS!"

__________________
Halfway to hell and picking up speed.

ShaniFaye

I still use my checkbook because *gasp* there are people that dont take credit/debit cards or they charge to pay with a credit/debit card and Im not paying for that when I can write a check for free

__________________
I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

Sultana

I write checks very rarely. I'm pissed that of all my household bills, the stupid waterworks is the only one that doesn't accept on-line payments. There should be a law....

Otherwise, my nephew's schooling and some assorted and sundry services are about the only other times I rely on a paper check. I wish I didn't have to do even those, as I still feel obligated to carry a checkbook around with me.

__________________
"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
At night, the ice weasels come." -

Matt Groening

My goal? To fulfill my potential.

shesus

I write checks to pay my bills and that all. I don't have a paper register anymore, I did upgrade to Quicken. I was horrible at balancing a checkbook on my own.

I have been thinking about on-line bill paying, but I like to see my amounts on paper and make sure I have the money in the account as I mail it out.

One of these days, I'll get with the program, but for right now I pay my bills with a check. I guess I'm untrusting with numbers floating in cyberspace still.

__________________
Whatever did happen to your soul?
I heard you sold it

Choose Heaven for the weather and Hell for the company

Yakk

I pay utility bills/rents online, via credit card, or via pre-approved debit.

For day to day purchases, I use a mix of credit card, cash and debit.

Debit, for those from the states, is a system whereby you swipe a card, enter a PIN number, and the money is instantly moved from your account to the account of the store.

I have used a cheque, relatively recently, to...
Pay rent
Buy a car
...
can't remember any other use of my chequebooks recently.

__________________
Last edited by JHVH : 10-29-4004 BC at 09:00 PM. Reason: Time for a rest.

kutulu

Only if there isn't an easier way. Also, if they are known to take a while to cash the check, I'll switch to using a money order or cashier's check. I don't mind paying an extra 50 cents to have the money taken out immedietly.

Regarding debit/credit card fees, I've mostly stopped shopping at any place that charges a fee for a debit transaction.

Another thing, I hate the term 'check card'. It's a marketting term banks invented to make their debit card sound different.

Another thing, how is there not a paper trail when you pay bills online? There is always a confirmation page, print it out.

xepherys

I write checks for rent because they don't take cash or bank cards... that's about it. I think we've gone through maybe a book of checks a year lately?

__________________
The prospect of achieving a peace agreement with the extremist group of MILF is almost impossible...
-- Emmanuel Pinol, Governor of Cotobato

My Homepage

Willravel

When I have to. Not any other time. I can't stand them.

ShaniFaye

I was lucky with our rent...our landlord uses the same bank I just transfer the money straight into his account on payday....it allows him to have his rent 3 days before its actually due lol he likes that and it doesnt cost me a dime to do it

__________________
I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

BigBob234

I only write them to pay for daycare--once a week.

Bills are all automatic payment (sent from my account to them, I don't let anyone just take money out of my account).

Purchases are almost all by debit/credit card. The rest are by cash.

thingstodo

Hate to say it but banks have always been in business to make money. There's just a greater awareness among the general public these days to that fact brought about, in part, by news reports. Banks, like any business, are in business to develop as many revenue streams as possible.

That said, I haven't given a bank money in years, other than to have direct deposit and maintain a little bit of a balance that does draw a paltry amount of interest.

As for debit cards, why have funds debited from your account in real time? I mean, you still have that checkbook balancing thing. Keep a card that you pay off every month (in fact, it's downright silly to borrow money with a credit card when there are so many other ways) and just charge everything. You can always dispute a charge. And on the statement due date just go on line and pay the bill with your checking acount - or even by phone! No interest and only one hit to your checking account for a month's worth of purchases!

__________________
If you're wringing your hands you can't roll up your shirt sleeves.

Stangers have the best candy.

mokle

I don't even own a cheque book. Everything is with debit or credit, all my pills are payed automatically online. I don't have to do anything...

__________________
Mokle
"Your hands can't hit what your eyes can't see" -Ali

Cynthetiq

Well I can't speak for the Great White North, but I can speak for the history of banking in the United States, in the 1980's President Reagan deregulated the Banking Industry. While they were to make modest profits, they were not nickel and diming their customers. A child could open a savings account without fear that monthly service charges would wipe that out in short order. Open a bank account in a bank and you'll find that your $100 will evaporate in just a few months vis a vie fees.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

biznatch

I use checks to pay for rent, utilities, and such things.
My other daily expenses (cuo of joe at the Milk mart, small items, books) usually are taken care of with my ATM card. I don't like carrying cash on me anymore, because I hate having tons of singles and small coins filling up my pockets.

Lady Sage

I work in a bank and still write checks for my bills and or doctors office/vet visits.

Why?

Direct debit is the DEVIL!!!! More than half of all the fraud cases I deal with are direct debit. It is a service that while convenient can have adverse effects like warrrreagl pointed out in his post. Direct debit is murder to try to stop.

If they dont take check or debit card I dont need the product/service that bad.

__________________
If only closed minds came with closed mouths.
Minds are like parachutes, they function best when open.
It`s Easier to Change a Condom Than a Diaper
Yes, the rumors are true... I actually AM a Witch.

analog

My solution to the problems mentioned..

I don't use auto-withdrawal, because I don't trust them taking out the right amount... but I still process the transaction over the web with the credit/debit card.

The "paper trail" is the same for an electronic transaction... you get a confirmation number that the credit company uses to track the transaction, and you get a receipt that you can print out, or just save on your computer. This, in fact, is better than a check- because if you mail a check, you have nothing to prove you actually sent it to them other than your word. If you pay online and something happens, you have your confirmation number.

If a place actually charges me to use the debit or credit, I will not do business with that place. I know it costs them money to do it, but very few places still charge, that i've ever seen around here anyway.

BigTruck1956

I wrote a rent check yesterday. Thats probably it though.

__________________
so much to do, so little time.....at least i aint bored.

Jimellow

I enjoy writing checks.

Taking the time to write and mail out a check gets me into good practice of paying bills on time, and going through the process, instead of just doing it instantly, or automatically, online.

__________________
Desperation is no excuse for lowering one's standards.

genuinegirly

i definitely don't prefer to pay in check, since it is a hassle these days, but if a store takes only cash and checks, and I don't have any cash on me... what other option do I have? I go for the check. But i'm starting to see a trend of places no longer accepting checks. I have never once had someone try to pay with a check at Starbucks. I'm not entirely sure that I'd be able to ring up the order without the assistance of a manager. Most places here in Berkeley don't accept anything other than cash, a harsh reality that I'm learning slowly. Always seems like such a pain to carry a wad of bills.

__________________
"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy

gal

How can fraud with direct debit be so widespread? A company that use direct debit will surely loose its privileges if they try to scam people. Erroneous chargers is another thing, but hardly much of a problem either. I have direct debit on most recurring bills and different limits on each of them. I'm also able to stop the bills manually, since they're visible online 15-20 days before they take effect.