Why can't Americans ditch checks? (2017) | Hacker News Reader

Why can't Americans ditch checks? (2017)

denverpost.com

6 pointsthunderbong10 comments

So, I am writing in defense of checks. Not because they are "best"but because the represent an option that fit certain use options. If anyone has good options to Quickbooks I would like to hear. I just do not trust the mainstream financial payment system.

I am a little older (50s) living in an elderly environment. I am a full time caretaker for a senior parent. She still writes the checks for those bills that we pay with checks. A personal note my mother worked in the federal reserves check clearing department for about ~40 years. There is the full disclosure.

Who has a log file they wish would go away and how often do you look at it. For mission critical stuff (personal finance in the modern world) I want to be in the loop. Not only because it is so enjoyable[1] but because it can truly affect my life. It should be a much larger part of early education.

Paper checks are easy to use with paper record keeping (or spreadsheets). Accounting is a skill. Keeping track of a checking account is at the low end of the skill set for accounting and automating things often leads to ignored logs problems. Also, automating things in a way that the consumer is still in the loop cost money (Quickbooks and similar or if free, what is the product). [2]

I do not trust the financial industry. I remember when customers still rented phones from Bell Telephone. It was easier to catch and cancel with a paper invoice. New service agreements and fees are easy to apathetically click through or just not see or appreciate.

There is a host of rural issues to address. As passionately as I would like to continue I should do some actual work. This is written with good will to all so pleases forgive anything offensive. I look forward to hearing other opinions.

Life is hard as a default. Adding new/extra life skills should make things easier. If "going paperless" suits you please do. Do not dismissing other options because you do not want to take those paths. Gardening to supplement diet is enjoyable[3]. I recommend it (for those with the resources, when it suits). The same can be true of checks.

[1] sarcasm

[2] I am open to suggestions. Paper is a pain and we live in the 21st century.

[3] Not sarcasm

I've lost count of how many establishments (like utilities or municipal taxes) charge extra for other forms of payment, but nothing extra for checks. Follow the money.

Exactly. More generally, the promoters of electronic payments mock other forms while piling constraints, skipping features, adding costs, sneaking in more onerous terms and conditions.

Example: My bank will let me schedule in advance and will mail for me a check - all free of extra charges. But will not let me schedule a Zelle payment in advance. Oh, did they mention the amount limits for Zelle? No they didn't, but they are there.

Verizon just offered $40 discount to switch to paperless. It will be enough for me to switch.

Paperless billing does not preclude paying with a check. I pay rent and utility bills with checks if they charge a non-trivial fee for using a credit card. I'm not giving them direct access to my bank account either.

I am not really to worried about large corps outright steeling. More that the will eventually raise a rate or add a fee. Giving out account info is might be a security risk but so much is out of my hands,it seems.

Getting the paper bill in the mail is a nice reminder to check up on things.

Article is from 2017 and mostly has statistics from 2015, things have probably changed.

In 2015, [Americans] each made 38 check transactions, on average

I wonder what would be the median number of checks. There is going to be an older generation that is using checks for everything, and there is a younger generation that is forced to use checks to pay that older generation (eg: rent). But I can't see millennials and younger using checks for much else.

I still write checks and members of my family do more so. 38 sounds about right. For me about 30 maybe 2 credit cards income tax (no state just federal) and maybe a few miscellaneous.

Addition: My mother worked at the Fedral reserve clearing check for 40+ years. A podcast episode I enjoyed from Planet Money on the subject.

https://www.npr.org/transcripts/229224964

“Yeah, I hear you, but we’ve always paid by check.”

So glad to be retired from retail!

Retail check, in my experience and these days, is no more than scanning the check and often the clerk will just hand the check back. It is not a mode of payment for me any more but I see it now and again in my rural area. Sometime it is hard for the clerk to give the check back to the customer. The check image as written appears on the paper bank statement. I do still write checks for credit cards it keeps me in the loop and makes me think about the finance (I do not have a roomful of accountants working for me).

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