Does anybody here still write checks for purchases? I work at a grocery store and the number of people who write checks for their stuff is downright awful. You would think that with the abundance of Debit cards out there that more people wouldn't use such an obsolete way of paying.
Some people still feel more comfortable writing checks than they do using credit or debit cards, regardless of age group. I guess the common belief is that old people write checks for everything, but I've seen enough uneducated/scared-of-what-they-don't-understand people in their 20s-40s stick to writing checks simply because they don't want to trust that hocus-pocus credit card!
At this risk of being overly stereotypical, it's old people that still write checks. That and people who distrust technology. Which is mostly old people.
My wife still writes checks for some things. Not regularly though. I can't recall the last check I wrote. This is kind of like, "Who still uses Fax"? Just BotCon I guess.
I still write checks for some bills becuase for some dumb reason some bill collectors will charge you an online fee, but not for checks. For example, the bank my car is financed through will charge me a fee to pay my balance online, but no to pay it in the form of a check. Along with my checks being free through my bank, Id prefer to leave it this way instead of paying a $10 fee for NOT using paper.
The younger people I was referring to are usually raised by those old people; as a result, they have nearly no interaction with the rest of the world which could help them realize just how backwards their rearing has made them. It's embarrassing to hear people my age explain that "I just don't want a credit card because then I could go into debt!" as if the card itself will automatically lead them to ruin.
I still write checks for some items as well; I'm more surprised that they're still accepted as forms of payment in grocery stores though.
It won't automatically lead them to ruin, but I've seen some people who have no problem tracking a bank balance in a checkbook, but as soon as they get a card in their hand they blow money like it's cool because they don't keep any idea of how much they're actually spending in their heads(or just bother to check online), because they don't have that little checkbook to go with it. Frankly, I hate checks, and every time my bank sends me a box(which they do every once in a while, along with the cc companies...) I toss 'em in the fire pit, because the last thing I want to do is lose a box of checks sitting somewhere and get screwed.
I haven't had checks in around 5 years. I've had to get the occasional money order, but otherwise it's all debit, credit and cash. Those with them (typically old ladies) always stand out in the grocery checkout line. Fortunately that's becoming a rare scene.
Ops_was_a_truck - That's the thing, a Credit Card is a Credit Card. But a Debit Card is just like using a check, only more conveniant and won't hold up the line. cannabisprime - If the Grocery Store I work at didn't take checks or welfare, then it wouldn't exist.
I know that, but other people don't know the difference. I've tried explaining this to an old friend (a guy with whom I used to work) and his eyes just fog over. This is, of course, the same guy who never graduated from high school.
But if the bank charges you each time you use the card, then its better to write checks. My wife's bank was charging her a quarter each time she used the card. But checks were free
My wife uses checks for out bills. The last time I wrote a check in a store was buying the engagement ring, it was more than what my limit on my debit card was. And it was a long process. We do roll our eyes at people you write a $10 check at the grocery store though, I mean, come on people.
It mite be obsolete but you'd be surprised how much trouble it is to cancel payment because the machine at the store charged your debitcard twice. I had troubles last month at a Walgreens drug store due to this.Their machine charged my purchase twice but it did show up like this till I receive a bank statement.
Yes and yes. I see old people write checks all the time, younger people - not so much. It bugs the shit out of me for some reason - probably because they hold the line up. I mail checks from time to time, but rent is the #1 reason I still bother with paper checks.
Exactly. I still use checks for my bills (yes, I haven't jumped on the billpay bandwagon just yet), but nothing else. Once I lost my debit card and was forced to use checks for a week while I awaited a replacement....and I apologized to the cashier and everyone else in line for being a dumbass.
My mortgage company gets a check, and my church gets a check, and my gas company gets a check (they charge for cards). But I don't send them; my bank does. I use online Bill Payment on my bank's website. If they can send the payment electronically, they will; if they can't, they send a check. And I don't get charged any fees. But I always use a credit card wherever I can, since I get 1-5% back through them. (And I pay the balance at the end of the month, so no fees.) Debit cards don't usually charge the user unless it's an ATM transaction; if you get charged for using the card for purchases, call your bank to get that changed or change banks. But ATM transactions can get REALLY expensive; your bank may charge $3, and the ATM owner may charge $3. IIRC, whether they charge the vendor depends on how the transaction is processed. If it's a PIN transaction, it's handled like a check, with no fee. If it's a signature transaction, it's handled like a credit card, with several fees (per month, per transaction, and percentage of the total). One of my banks started offering credit card-like bonuses for using their ATM card with a signature; they're getting fees, so they pass part of it along to encourage people to use them. But I use a credit card instead, since that's got a bigger bonus; the bank's only like 1/2%, and then it has to be redeemed through their catalog. (Except when they give a bonus - a "use the card 5 times in one month for a 500 point bonus" type of thing.)
A lot of people don't realize that credit cards are a lot safer than checks. If somebody gets your credit card number, say, from making a photocopy, and charges a lot, you are only responsible for the first $50 of each charge (and a lot of companies don't charge even that), and you owe nothing for any transactions after you tell the credit card company. If someone gets your bank account information from a copy of your check or debit card, they can charge whatever they want and you have to pay for it, unless the bank catches it soon enough to stop the transaction and return it unpaid. Even after you tell the bank, you are still responsible for any charges; you will have to stop any stolen checks (a fee applies that may be per-check), close your account, and get a new account number. And they may still want to charge you for any bounced checks. (Unless your bank has some other policy in place; some extend credit card-style protection to other accounts just so people use them.)
There's something very popular in Brazil that is called pre-dated check. It's not "officially" endorsed by banks, but it certainly works. For big amounts that get divided in parcels, stores will hold on to your checks to a specific date, as a common practice. It beats credit cards since there's no fees nor interest, which are pretty high around here, and it offers some guarantee since the check is already issued. I've finished paying for my own house with 22 checks spreaded over almost two years issued directly to the prior owner. No banks involved, he would cash the specific check every month. That's not true here, which is probably why we rely so much on checks. Checks are safer. You can't do absolutely anything with account numbers alone (as opposite to a CC number). You'd have to steal the actual checkbook, and if you have yours stolen you can contact the bank and they'll immediatelly stop any transaction regarding that checkbook. For shop-owners, they can always ask for an ID along with the check, and if they don't they can still rely on insurance services for stolen checks and record services that will look up for information on stolen checks before taking them (I actually work for such credit information company).
