Comment by zerocrates
3 years ago
Surprised you're writing checks every week: I haven't written a check in years. ACH transfers, sure, but not physical checks.
I do still receive them occasionally, almost always as printed checks from companies.
3 years ago
Surprised you're writing checks every week: I haven't written a check in years. ACH transfers, sure, but not physical checks.
I do still receive them occasionally, almost always as printed checks from companies.
It depends. I have to use checks to pay my landscaper and housekeeper, because there isn't another unilateral payment document.
By this I mean, in the US everyone could use CashApp, Venmo, PayPal, Zelle (glorified ACH, right?), etc. for p2p payment. If you have the same bank, many banks have a trivial "send money to another customer's account" feature. However, to do so requires essentially a 'handshake' where the two parties agree on a method. Checks require no up-front handshake, since everyone knows what to do with a check (deposit it at your ATM, take a picture of it with mobile app, or take it to a check-cashing place or the issuing bank).
If I could print on paper a key or QR code that allows you to claim the money into the account of your choice, like a check does, I'd use that. Sadly, banks seem to have put their effort into Zelle instead.
Zelle may still allow for you to send money to a non-Zelle account - as a dark pattern, they'll hold that cash for the recipient and give them an opportunity to sign up and receive it. This was a big pressure point for smaller banks and CUs to sign up.
Sure, so will all the real fintech payment companies that came before Zelle too, but you can’t count on someone to be interested in signing up. They might just say “no, screw that, I don’t like Zelle/PayPal/CashApp, I demand you pay me I with cash or check or I won’t work for you anymore.”
For all I know, they might even be banned from that app, and unable to sign up to retrieve my payment.
Yeah. And with online banking apps, it's basically not worth anyone's time to do the handshake because depositing just isn't a big deal [ADDED: If there's an in-person transaction]. I use credit/debit/ACH 95%+ of the time but if that's not an option check is easy.
I mean, all you need for Zelle to send someone money is an id, if they have a Zelle-supported bank account. Which is effectively the same situation as bank transfer payments in other countries.
Aren't you just describing cash? Cheque has the same issue as the online alternatives in that it could "bounce" - cash (or I guess crypto) can't
Large checks are cheaper to handle than an equivalent amount of cash. Most people won't just toss $10k in the back of their car and drive to the bank, but would think nothing of taking a $10k check to the bank.
Also, there is less of a need for a receipt when paying by check. If I pay someone by check, my bank has a record of it. If I pay them by cash, I better get (and keep) that receipt in the case of a later non-payment dispute.
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I can’t print cash in my house ;) and I don’t want to keep a board of it under my mattress!
I run into this myself a whole lot with various home service businesses in particular.
It’s not unusual for me to get an invoice for a company via QuickBooks Online, with cash or check as the only payment options.
Other businesses around here have started giving discounts for paying with cash or check versus apps or credit/debit cards, to avoid the recent increases in fees.
I’ll also write checks when having a “hard” traceable payment instrument physically makes sense for auditing purposes or fraud prevention, although that’s less frequently needed.
I find I still have to write a few a year, annoyingly.
Of all things my life insurance company is still not set up for credit card payments. In 2023.
Boggles the mind.
The significant credit card fees might have something to do with it. Perhaps better luck with FedNow.
I’m 41 , I’ve never written a cheque in my life, and have received less than 10 in my life.
Australia/Canada have been doing free bank transfers since before I was old enough to know