Why in the hell do people write checks?

[devilot]

I'm 16 and haven't met another person my age who has a checking account. My MasterCard is ALWAYS used (even when buying a coffee).

wow I am surprised they gave you a credit card. All accounts and credit cards have to be though you parents if you are under the age of 18 because they can not sign a legally binding contract with you until you are 18.

I had a savings and checkings account a good while before I was 16... and all I needed was for a parent to sign one form. (And maybe iMetroid was saying MasterCard because most debit cards still have designations-- mine's a Visa in addition to my bank's debit capabilities.)

 

[MultiM]

I do the A/R for the company I work for and when other employees purchase product, they usually pay cash. This Receivable can sit on the books for a couple of months before it is cleared (I don't do the cash deposits because it is considered to be part of Petty Cash). When I purchase something, I write a cheque immediately and it does not show up on the books at all. As a matter of fact I'm about to write one now.

All other transactions are debit, credit or cash in my personal life. No bank fees as my wife works for the bank, and we pay all bills via on-line banking.

The only other cheques we wrote were for rent, when we were renting, and then we gave the landlady a stack of post dated cheques so we wouldn't have to see her.

 

[Warbrain]

I write checks because I like to have that paper trail. I want to be able to look at my statement, see the scanned image of my check, and know that I paid for it. Plus, I can go back to the bank and say what check number it was and what the issue was. You don't have that ability as much with a debit card purchase.

 

[sushi]

I've written so many checks that I have surpassed the level that my bank will print up number wise!

I used to write checks for everything. What started me to use checks was to control my money. Cash would disappear and I would have no idea where it went. Enter the check era for me.

On a side note, I don't have that problem with Japanese yen. Just American and Hong Kong dollars.

Now I use plastic for just about everything. Then pay it off at the end of the month with a check. Yeah, I could wire transfer the money, and may change to that someday. But for now I will stick to a check.

Also, for tax purposes, a cancelled check can serve as a receipt. Very handy for business at times.

Who knows, maybe someday we will be able to have one card that is activated by a bio security of some sort that contains all your account info so that you can just select whatever account that you want to pay for your purchase. So if you had a savings account, Visa, MC, AMEX, Diner's Club, and Discover cards, these all would show up and you would select the one that you want to use.

 

[yippy]

I use checks essentially for only one thing, paying individual people. This is usually either a gift or my flight instructor. I would love to be able to eliminate even that but for some reason I just can't use my card with my freelance instructor while standing on a private grass landing strip. Such is life.

Actually, here in Budapest I have found that a lot of places don't take cards, especially food places, so I use way more cash here than anything else.

 

[takao]

i have never seen a cheque outside of movies or when they hold up those big cheques which some lucky guy won

normally i use cash when buying groceries ... only when i forgot visiting a ATM before, i pay with my card

for other stuff (like electronics, expensive etc.) above 50€ i normally use the card exclusivly

rent, electricity bill etc. i normally use netbanking

 

[savar]

I don't get it either, they should be writing cheques.

But seriously forks, I was amazed at the level of credit card use in Canada - people would buy one coffee with a credit card?!

Nobody here writes cheques unless it's for something big or tradition demands it, we just use that old-fashioned stand-by: cash. Mainly because the banks and credit card companies can't give us the old kick in the bollocks when we use cash.

With a good rewards card, its tempting to put everything on your card. I use my card even at Wendy's now...but writing a check at PetSmart is terrible. My checkbook is for emergency use only.

 

[savar]

I write checks because I like to have that paper trail. I want to be able to look at my statement, see the scanned image of my check, and know that I paid for it. Plus, I can go back to the bank and say what check number it was and what the issue was. You don't have that ability as much with a debit card purchase.

What about keeping printed receipts?? I've never had a problem calling and asking about a debit or credit charge ... just tell them what day it was and what the name of the vendor is.

 

[sushi]

What about keeping printed receipts?? I've never had a problem calling and asking about a debit or credit charge ... just tell them what day it was and what the name of the vendor is.

Checks are handy as receipts.

Same size. Easy to sort. Etc.

 

[prostuff1]

I don't write checks so much but i do have a check book just in case i need to.

I pay all my bills online through my bank, which is much easier. The bank will try to wire transfer the money to the place it needs to go and if that does not work they write up a check and send it. All i have to do is fill out the stuff online. Very simple and painless.

 

[Clix Pix]

Most of my bills are paid online, either by automatic withdrawal or by me manually clicking the right keys, and I use my debit card or credit cards for purchases in stores and at the gas pump. If it's a small purchase, then cash, but I usually don't carry much cash with me. Not too long ago I had to write a check for something and I was surprised at how cumbersome it felt. Yes, I HATE standing in the checkout line behind some old lady or old gent who is fumbling with the checkbook, fumbling to write the check, fumbling to record the balance.....

 

[robbieduncan]

I wish I had that! Or better yet automatic debit! It's not like I'm not planning on paying my rent.

You can't setup a direct debit? When I rented I simply told my bank I wanted a direct debit to a specific sort code/account on a specific date every month then forgot about it. People use this all the time in the UK (for example I pay my cell phone bills, council tax, TV license... all by direct debit).

 

[ziwi]

Tracking.
Sure the credit card and check cards provide this, but cash usually does not. You may get a eceipt, but what happens with it? A check should still be used for paying for things that do not have the credit or check card option - perhaps a donation or offering that one wishes to keep track of? How about paying a relative or friend back money when you have no cash on hand, which most of us do not since we have the credit and check cards, just a few thoughts...

 

[dextertangocci]

In South Africa it's still quite common

 

[Eraserhead]

With checking MasterCard and VISA cards, why in the world would people still write checks? (I saw a lady at PetSmart writing a check tonight.)

I don't think I have written a personal check in a year...

Do you?

God knows, the only reason I can think is that they haven't yet received their pin number.

 

[weg]

Depends, are the debit cards protected by court orders at the banks like your checks?

Currently, I think yes, but credit card companies and banks are trying to change that by introducing concepts like "Verified by Visa" etc. Currently, if somebody fakes your signature and buys something with your credit card, VISA will have to prove that it's your signature. If somebody pays using your pin code, you'll have to prove that you didn't give it away and you haven't lost your credit card.

That's actually the main reason why "secure transactions" are introduced, to shift the responsibility from the credit card companies to the card holder.

 

[MarkCollette]

By the way, you're all wrong, it's not check or cheque, but is instead Czech

 

[Rodimus Prime]

God knows, the only reason I can think is that they haven't yet received their pin number.

well I have had my visa check card for over a year now and I have no clue what the pin number is I lost the piece of paper that had it on it shortly after I got it so I never memorized it. I get a good laugh every time something ask me to enter my pin because yeah I dont know it and well I have zero motivation to bother trying to figure it out.

I happen to also happen have a debit card to the same account and that one I did get to choose my pin number so yeah if I need cash back I just pull out my debit card.

 

[someguy]

I can't be bothered to read this entire thread, as I just now stumbled upon it, but I figured I'd chime in and say that I only write checks to pay bills in the mail because I don't like paying bills online.

I pretty much pay for everything with credit - gas, dining, groceries, entertainment, toys, etc - and then I pay my credit card bill, mortgage, and other misc. bills with checks.

Checks don't bother me much (though I never EVER take my checkbook out with me). It's cash that I really can't stand. I almost never keep more than $10 in cash on me.

 

[Maxiseller]

I don't write cheques but I get paid by my teaching pupils by cheque all the time.

Of course, I'd prefer the cash, but cheques are convenient for them, and it doesn't require having the cash on them.

Also, you know I think paying by cheque somehow makes it feel as though you're not physically letting go of the money.

 

[ksz]

the banking system is trribly backwards in the US. i haven't used a single check in 35 years in germany but here in the US there is no way to pay my rent electronically (my bank automatically sends a PAPER check to my landlord every month!). and to pay your gas, electricity electronically means you have to sign up for an electronic account first, you need the internet, every company does it differently, you end up with lots of passwords for different companies.

and then there is always COMCAST (cable TV and Internet):

You don't really have to set this up if you're banking with a firm that has a really good online banking system. Bank of America, for example, lets me pay bills directly to each payee even if I don't have individual online accounts with each payee. But in order to receive eBills, you'll need to register with each payee.

So in my case all eBills are received by BofA and all payments are made through the same.

Totally consolidated. Totally free. Totally convenient.

 

[scott523]

My parents always write checks when it comes to bill pay. They think checks (and cash) are the most secure way of payment and will do anything to avoid credit cards. Of course since they're aren't used to the technology we've seen so far, they don't trust any online transactions (just like how we say Windows has bugs while Mac OS X is bugfree). However, the cost of ordering checks will add up and that will eventually outweigh the time it takes to write checks compared to online/credit card transactions.

 

[SkyBell]

I use checks because I don't like credit cards. My philosophy is, "If you need to use a credit card, you shouldn't be buying it." Granted, I use credit cards for online things like eBay and amazon, but I make sure I have the cash in hand.

 

[WildCowboy]

My philosophy is, "If you need to use a credit card, you shouldn't be buying it."

That's my exact philosophy, but I use credit cards at every opportunity for the rewards. Better to have that 1% or 5% in my pocket than someone else's. And delaying payment (even though I have the money in hand) lets me let my money work for me that much longer.

Credit cards are fantastic if you use them responsibly.

 

[scott523]

I use checks because I don't like credit cards. My philosophy is, "If you need to use a credit card, you shouldn't be buying it." Granted, I use credit cards for online things like eBay and amazon, but I make sure I have the cash in hand.

Nice, thats another example why my parents avoid credit cards. But on the other hand, my mom likes to take advantage of the points and credit cards are inevitable when it comes to online stuff.