# So Now we don't even write out checks anymore? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 28, 2018, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711 "2018-02-28T00:29:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/21 "2018-02-28T03:24:10Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Welcome to the 21st century. No darling, the 20th. You guys are about 50 years behind everybody else. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/22 "2018-02-28T03:33:35Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I don’t want to be blindsided by large utility bills and auto draft. > > I like to control when those payments are made. I mail the checks a few days before the due dates. > > We just had an unusual cold snap a few weeks ago. Down to 15F. My gas bill nearly doubled. > > I rarely use a check at a store. That’s why I got surprised at Office Depot. I had no idea they had this new electronic method. > > A lot has changed. I used to write 40 to 50 checks a month in the 90’s. To elaborate a bit more: You go to your bank’s website and setup an online login, where you can view all your account info, if you haven’t done so already. From there, you type in the names of the bills you get on a recurring basis, like utilities and credit cards. The bank pulls up the company info, and you put in your account numbers. Now you’re all set up. Then, when you get a bill in the mail, you go to the bank website, and tell it how much to pay and on what date. Done. Super easy. Then, if you get really inspired, you can download your bank’s app to your phone and do it all from your phone. You can also use the app to deposit checks into your bank account from home. There’s a lot more you can do, such as easily transfer money between accounts or even to your kids’ accounts if they need it in an instant, or send a bank-issued check by mail to anyone for free, including postage. You’ll wonder why you wasted so much time writing checks. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/23 "2018-02-28T03:33:59Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > … > > A lot has changed. I used to write 40 to 50 checks a month in the 90’s. Unless you are running a business. Wow, simply wow. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/24 "2018-02-28T03:38:56Z")
Consider how many times you swipe a debit card every month. That’s how many checks people wrote in the 90’s. I wrote them at diners, grocery stores, hardware, you name it. I refused to use a credit card and pay interest. ATM’s charged fees so I rarely used my first debit card. Modern Debit cards changed everything and made it easier. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/25 "2018-02-28T03:39:13Z")
I have a special surprise for you, from the 1920s style gas company of the future! Average Monthly Billing. Never be knocked on your financial butt by a “cold snap” again. [CenterPoint energy in Arkansas](http://www.centerpointenergy.com/en-us/residential/customer-service/billing-payment/average-monthly-billing?wt.ac=fc-ll-averagemonthlybilling&sa=ar) [AOG Energy in Arkansas](https://www.aogc.com/avgmnthlypay.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/26 "2018-02-28T03:40:37Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Debit cards changed everything. Yes they did…30 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/27 "2018-02-28T03:42:13Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I recognize that converting the check at point of sale is much more efficient. > > I got surprised and a bit embarrassed they’d implemented this tech and I hadn’t read about it. It’s been a few years since I wrote a check at a store. > > I read a lot of tech articles. I don’t remember check processing being described. I’ve seen stores using this technology to run checks since the 90s. Its probably even older than that. > [@needscoffee](#): > > To elaborate a bit more: You go to your bank’s website and setup an online login, where you can view all your account info, if you haven’t done so already. From there, you type in the names of the bills you get on a recurring basis, like utilities and credit cards. The bank pulls up the company info, and you put in your account numbers. Now you’re all set up. Then, when you get a bill in the mail, you go to the bank website, and tell it how much to pay and on what date. Done. Super easy. > > Then, if you get really inspired, you can download your bank’s app to your phone and do it all from your phone. You can also use the app to deposit checks into your bank account from home. > > There’s a lot more you can do, such as easily transfer money between accounts or even to your kids’ accounts if they need it in an instant, or send a bank-issued check by mail to anyone for free, including postage. > > You’ll wonder why you wasted so much time writing checks. I just go online to each of my utility companies’ websites and pay my bills there. I don’t get paper bills anymore. They’re emailed to me. It doesn’t take long to pay them all, maybe five minutes tops. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/28 "2018-02-28T03:43:17Z")
Cheques (that’s the proper-like spellink btw 😃 ) are essentially redundant here in Australia. Hadn’t written or even encountered one in over 30 yrs… Until just the last month, I had to get a bank-cheque to pay an authority that wouldn’t accept online funds transfers. And just a few days ago, I GOT A CHEQUE IN THE MAIL (huh?) from my electricity provider to pay me (and half the state) for the inconvenience of having a power-outage for a few hours on one of the hottest days of the year. WINNING. So I couldn’t get to the bank to deposit said cheque, went to an ATM, put the cheque in the slot and BOOM, the proceeds were immediately deposited into my account. How cool is that? But yeah, I don’t expect to see another cheque for another 30 years, unless we have another blackout next summer I guess. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/29 "2018-02-28T03:44:36Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Consider how many times you swipe a debit card every month. That’s how many checks people wrote in the 90’s. I wrote them at diners, grocery stores, hardware, you name it. I refused to use a credit card and pay interest. ATM’s charged fees so I rarely used my first debit card. > > Modern Debit cards changed everything and made it easier. I’ve never paid interest on a CC, even in the US. When possible I set them up to “pay 100%” automatically (no interest accrued); my US banks didn’t offer that option but so long as I went to the ATM (US banks didn’t have webpages at that point) and paid it from my account, no interest. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/30 "2018-02-28T04:21:06Z")
I’ve written checks recently to people who have done one-off work for us: a floor refinishing guy, a painter, an architect - they don’t take credit cards, and I certainly wasn’t about to hand them a wad of cash. Until we bought a house last year, the monthly condo assessments were paid by check, too. (Small building, 4 units. We weren’t set up for auto-pay.) ETA: some government fees, like the U.S. passport application fee, are payable by check or money order. Why should I pay for a money order when checks are almost free and I have a box of them? No way to pay by credit card, and payment has to be included with the application. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/31 "2018-02-28T04:39:04Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Consider how many times you swipe a debit card every month. That’s how many checks people wrote in the 90’s. I wrote them at diners, grocery stores, hardware, you name it. Lots of us used cash, not checks then for most transactions–it’s easier to hand the cashier some cash than to fill out a check and the check register and do all the math to balance the account. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/32 "2018-02-28T04:52:34Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I’ve seen stores using this technology to run checks since the 90s. Its probably even older than that. > > I just go online to each of my utility companies’ websites and pay my bills there. I don’t get paper bills anymore. They’re emailed to me. It doesn’t take long to pay them all, maybe five minutes tops. Why log in to each individual website when you can do it all in one go via the bank’s website/app? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/33 "2018-02-28T04:59:27Z")
They print it, you still have to sign it after it’s printed, to verify they didn’t write something stupid on the check. It was like that even back when I still used checks, back in 2003 or so. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/34 "2018-02-28T06:18:15Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Why log in to each individual website when you can do it all in one go via the bank’s website/app? Like I said, it only takes me about five minutes anyway. How much time would I be saving? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/35 "2018-02-28T06:31:43Z")
All the years I lived in Thailand, I doubt I saw as many as 10 checks, and those from companies. I honestly don’t think foreigners are even allowed checking accounts. It’s a cash society, or bank-to-bank transfers. Returning to the US a year and a half ago, I opened my first checking account since 1993 or 1994. The company I that takes our rent accepts checks only, no cash or credit cards. I use them to pay a few bills, but I would not write a check to a store. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/36 "2018-02-28T07:05:19Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > And just a few days ago, I GOT A CHEQUE IN THE MAIL (huh?) from my electricity provider to pay me (and half the state) for the inconvenience of having a power-outage for a few hours on one of the hottest days of the year. WINNING. [hijack] You got money?? Nobody’s offered me money yet! And I was out in the garden under a mozzie net till about 1 in the morning on the day in question, because the indoors was so unbearable. Ripped. Off. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/37 "2018-02-28T07:34:57Z")
The only check I’ve written for years is for my rent because they want a ridiculous fee to pay it online, so fuck them - they can go to the damn bank and deposit the check. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/38 "2018-02-28T12:53:41Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > They print it, you still have to sign it after it’s printed, to verify they didn’t write something stupid on the check. It was like that even back when I still used checks, back in 2003 or so. Huh. Part of my post is missing here. I also added that, nowadays, you might not notice these things simply because the places that would do this would also accept a check card, so you might as well do this. The only time you’d need to write a check is when people are unlikely to have either one, like when mailing money or giving to an individual. I’d be willing to bet that **aceplace** has encountered this before, but it’s been so long he forgot about it. I know I had until he mentioned it. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/39 "2018-02-28T15:27:03Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > Maybe because I’m only in my 30s and in another country, but I’ve never written a check to anyone in a store. Second this. Debit card use on a common network (Interac) was rolled out nationally in 1990 or so. I was still paying for university, rent, etc. with cheques back then. Other than our gardener/snow clearing and school field trips I don’t believe I have written a personal cheque in well over a decade. I don’t believe retailers in Canada accept cheques any more. From a business standpoint, we print \< 5 cheques a month now and probably receive 90% of our payments electronically. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711/40 "2018-02-28T15:39:40Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Consider how many times you swipe a debit card every month. That’s how many checks people wrote in the 90’s. Well, that’s not true. Most people just carried more cash on them. Today you might swipe a card (or tap your phone, etc) for a $2 cup of coffee but, in 1995, you’d pay cash for it or go without. No one was writing two dollar checks for it. Remember the beginning of The Big Lebowski when the cashier is giving the Dude a look as he writes a 67¢ check? That was a gag for a reason. These days, you swipe a card and no one cares except maybe small merchants who get dinged with fees. I encountered the automatic check processing at least 15+ years ago when I was buying a computer monitor and they just ran my check through a scanner and handed it back as though it was a debit card. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-we-dont-even-write-out-checks-anymore/809711.md?page=3)