# UK bans paper checks as of 2018? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 15, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-bans-paper-checks-as-of-2018/532559 "2010-03-15T17:22:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-bans-paper-checks-as-of-2018/532559/61 "2010-03-17T08:09:34Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > I think that you will find that a lot more people than you think don’t have bank accounts in the UK as well. In general in the US you can get a free checking account with a major bank if you keep $500 to $1000 in the account or have automatic deposit from you job. If you don’t meet the above then there is a fee. > There are also credit unions which will generally have very low minimum balances before fees apply. > > Almost all middle class kids in the US will have some king of bank account by the time they are teenagers. In The UK, I believe the government requires the major banks to offer ‘basic’ bank accounts - these are free to use but do not come with a debit card or cheque book - they give you an ATM card and the ability to make and receive payments and that’s it - they are designed for people who can’t get normal accounts (bad credit history/bankruptcy, that kind of thing). This has been in force for donkey’s years so certainly isn’t a response to electronic banking, but it does mean there are no barriers to having a bank account of some description. As for fees, standard current accounts are free in the UK. Monthly fees only kick in if you have a premium account that offers additional benefits (mine has worldwide travel insurance, car breakdown assistance, mobile phone insurance and a bunch of other stuff I can’t remember for £10 a month). ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-bans-paper-checks-as-of-2018/532559/62 "2010-03-17T08:10:51Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Many banks will also waive fees if you set up automatic deposits, like your payroll check. Pah, my bank pays ME interest on my current (checking to you) account if I pay in over £1000 per month. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-bans-paper-checks-as-of-2018/532559/63 "2010-03-17T09:47:09Z")
> [@Mogle](#): > > Here in Sweden(if I’m not mistaken this is also where **Floater** and **Henrichek** are from) True. A friend of mine, who works in a bank, has said about the USA that the banking system seems very outdated. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-bans-paper-checks-as-of-2018/532559/64 "2010-03-17T14:21:04Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > True. > > A friend of mine, who works in a bank, has said about the USA that the banking system seems very outdated. Another example is the absence of the use of chip and pin on credit and debit cards. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-bans-paper-checks-as-of-2018/532559/65 "2010-03-17T14:30:42Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > I find this very hard to believe. Is absolutely everyone going to be able to accept payments electronically from anywhere in the world by then? What about receipts and confirmation? It is already happening in some countries. I was reading that in India, cellphones are a common way of transferring funds. Cellphone companies are becoming banks. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile\_payment](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_payment) ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-bans-paper-checks-as-of-2018/532559/66 "2010-03-17T14:31:15Z")
US banks were too busy giving out big mortgage loans to anyone who walked in the door. They didn’t have time to modernize, they were too busy counting their profits and begging for a government bailout. ---
**Author:** ![markci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@markci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markci)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-bans-paper-checks-as-of-2018/532559/67 "2010-03-18T05:46:12Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Is this a first step to abandoning all _cash_ transactions? After all, quoting from the linked article, “There are many more efficient ways of making payments than by paper in the 21st century, and the time is ripe for the economy as a whole to reap the benefits of its replacement.” On the contrary, I’m sure it would increase the use of cash for a while at least. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-bans-paper-checks-as-of-2018/532559/68 "2010-03-18T11:27:46Z")
> [@Rayne\_Man](#): > > Another example is the absence of the use of chip and pin on credit and debit cards. Really? There’s no Chip and Pin in America? ---
**Author:** ![put\_down\_the\_sabre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/da6949/32.png) [@put\_down\_the\_sabre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/put_down_the_sabre)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-bans-paper-checks-as-of-2018/532559/69 "2010-03-18T14:23:09Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > Really? There’s no Chip and Pin in America? Not exactly – you can pay for things by entering your pin number, but it’s still the old magnetic strip. No secure chip and pin (some places have it but it’s very rare). America does have one great banking innovation, though: drive through cash machines. They’re everywhere. In the field of catering to the fat and lazy, American banking leads the world. pdts ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-bans-paper-checks-as-of-2018/532559/70 "2010-03-18T15:17:12Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Also people who want to avoid taxes might have a bank account but prefer to work with cash since that cannot be traced. Indeed. People who are paid under the table often avoid having a bank account to avoid showing any income to IRS. They have to hit the bank on Friday to cash their paycheck. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-bans-paper-checks-as-of-2018/532559/71 "2010-03-19T06:18:04Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Using that line of thinking, I opened a BMO US dollar chequing account for use on a summer long road trip throughout the USA. Often I would stay in national or state parks, and pay by leaving a cheque in the self-serve depositories. All was well and fine, until upon my return to Canada I learned that there was a warrant out for my arrest in southern Colorado. The park attendant at Great Sand Dunes National Monument tried to cash my cheque at a train station, rather than taking it to a bank. After I explained the difference between a bank and a train station, the charges were dropped… I love it. There’s something a bit _Alice’s Restaurant_-ish about finding that there was an arrest warrant out for you, dangerous international criminal mastermind that you are. Scary, but funny in retrospect, I suppose. Also, explaining the difference between a bank and a train station must have been fun. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ispolkom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47774/32.png) [@Ispolkom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ispolkom)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-bans-paper-checks-as-of-2018/532559/72 "2010-03-19T15:25:37Z")
When I moved to Minnesota a decade ago I was amazed at how common check writing was. People wrote checks everywhere, even at McDonalds. Even now restaurants often sport signs warning that they no longer take checks, usually next to the sign saying they don’t allow concealed weapons. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-bans-paper-checks-as-of-2018/532559/73 "2010-03-21T00:52:48Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > Really? There’s no Chip and Pin in America? Its really worrying,if someone gets their hands on your debit/credit card then they can spend your money. I.M.E.(very recently) the people that you’re paying don’t really care if you’re the genuine owner of the card as they are going to get your money, so that their security checks are desultory most of the time and quite often non existent Its like going back in time,I almost expected to see horse and buggies running around the streets after I’d made a plastic transaction. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-bans-paper-checks-as-of-2018/532559.md?page=3)