Cultural changes

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monophoto

monophoto

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A couple of months ago I had dinner with a fellow from New Zealand. During the course of our conversation, something was said about writing checks, and he asked me if we in the US still use checks. Apparently, check writing has essentially faded into history in New Zealand.

That cause me to think, and to go back in my records to compare my current practices with those of the past. I know that today, I use a credit card far more often than used to be the case, and many of our routine household bills are 'autobilled' to a credit card which I then pay off at the end of the billing period using an electronic funds transfer from our bank account.

But just out of curiosity I found the following comparison between 2000 and 2022:

20002022
Bank transactions337161
Checks written30432
Fraction of transactions paid by check99.10%5%
Checks written per day0.80.09

And frankly, I expect that if I look at these numbers again early next year, our usage of checks in 2023 will be even lower.

As a related matter, the Bank of England reports that 50% of commercial transactions in the UK in 2010 involved cash, but this number dropped to 17% in 2020. The pandemic certainly was a factor as people shifted to on-line rather than in person transactions, and while they believe that cash usage has recovered somewhat in the last couple of years, they don't believe that it will ever go back to where it was.

So yeah, we are definitely doing things differently that we used to.
 
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Interesting. I guess it makes sense since most commerce is done on-line (not to mention the travel or cash back points many credit cards offer.)
 
Well I do not follow that trend. I am a check writer and get to use one of my pretty pens to do it. I pay just about all my bills with a check and use the USPS to send them in. I have never gotten bit by doing this for well over 50 years. I still like to buy things with cash. Unless the item is a large $$ item it is good old green paper with President photos on them. Cash is still King in my house. I will not pay bills on line because I just do not trust the internet.

Just read Hanks follow up to my post and he referenced his credit card mishap. I had the same with 2 different cards and to this day I have no idea or where they were picked off but a hastle to get straightened out. Not sure if this had any effect on my credit score because it has been a long time since I ever checked that. One card called me to question such a huge use and thank goodness it was halted. Today's world we live in. Always a scam or theft of others.
 
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Yes, while not a banker, I am well aware of the decrease in checks. I don't think it will totally cease but I do see banks charging $1 to $5 or so for processing each check 10 years in the future because it requires handling by people at some point in the process.

I just ran into the reason for the advantage of checks (and similar to what John T wrote above:
I had two of my credit cards (that I rarely use but use as payments for basic services) both get hit with bogus charges, which were reversed. But that meant getting new cards. It took 2 weeks. Then notices from 5 different company accounts that my payments were declined. I sent checks to each until my new cards were active for payments.

I have one company in which my payments for internet and TV are paid through a bank draft, but the cell phone part of the same company does not allow for bank draft but credit/debit card only. ODD.

When I was in Japan, an American friend opened a checking account at a bank to monthly pay for his small vacation house on a lake on the back side of Japan. Since Japan rarely used checks, most banking people are not aware of them. One has to go to a special section of a bank to discuss and process a check. One day, my friend, in a hurry went to the front cashier window and presented the check (with bank routing numbers on it) and the lady was completely unaware of this process. Totally surprised at the bank's routing numbers on a piece of paper (the check) which she had never seen, she called the police to come and arrest my friend. After they came, and a lengthy discussion in front of everyone, the one check processor in the back of the bank came out to view the commotion, realized the problems and quickly calmed everything down. My friend did not go to the front cashier window anymore! (BTW I was able to cash a check on two different occasions when in Tokyo at a large bank, but I knew in advance to go to a special section and offer special credentials to cash the checks of dollars and receive the cash in yen.)
 
I'm constantly getting a had time from my son and my best friend. I still write checks. When I purchase something I use mainly a credit card and occasionally cash. I writs checks to pay a few bills like taxes and doctors. I don't like the idea of living by my phone. As often as I hear companies talk about how much they care about your privacy and how safe their apps are it seems the next day thier getting hacked. I'll stick with the brick and mortar banks as long as there's one around. The last one standing is the one I'll be doing business with.
 
I write checks. My only auto-pay is for my mobile phone; didn't have a choice when I signed up. I like to know where my money is going. Plus, I can write three checks in the time I can log on to my bank account to pay online. I also keep a file for my monthly statements. I can pull the file and look in less than a minute. How long does it take to long onto my bank account online? Too long IMHO. Purchases are by CC and paid in full when due. Never carry cash...to easy to buy what I don't need. Unless, of course, it is woodworking things. ;)
 
It's a rare occasion where I write a check anymore. Paying with actual cash less and less too.
 
I've probably written less than 5 checks in the last 10 years. It's so infrequent that whenever I need to write one I literally go to my bank to get one. FWIW, I'm 30, but I'd imagine most of Gen Z (age ~12-27) have never written a check in their lives. I suspect Gen Alpha will write few to none.
 
About the only time I write an actual check is when I have to pay a local or state entity (vehicle registration, property taxes, utilities etc). They charge an extra fee if I use a credit card to offset the fees the card company charges them. I know it's not much, but I like to spend my money on something useful like pen blanks or tools. Or as my wife says, I'm just cheap.
 
leehljp said:
I had two of my credit cards (that I rarely use but use as payments for basic services) both get hit with bogus charges, which were reversed. But that meant getting new cards. It took 2 weeks. Then notices from 5 different company accounts that my payments were declined. I sent checks to each until my new cards were active for payments.
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This happens to me also - typically around once every two years. And it always seems to happen just before we are planning to leave on a trip and need to have any credit card issues resolved so that we are able to use them. I've gotten into the habit of keeping a list of the companies that have have set up to direct bill to each credit card so that I can quickly update the payment method when I get a new card.

Of course, there is still the challenge that those companies update their web sites on a regular basis, and seem to enjoy finding new places to hide the payment method options. So most of the time required to do the update is searching for where on their web site the change has to be recorded.
 
I physically write no more than 4-5 checks per year (guessing that's down from 150-200 per year 15 years or so ago). The ones i still write are for things like income tax where a form is mailed with the remittance. There are another 15-20 checks that get written & mailed by our bank's bill-pay system. Downside to the bill-pay is that it takes a few days for them to print & mail--but the upside is that i don't need a stamp or envelope, PLUS our checking account number is not reflected on the check, looks like it's converted to an internal number of some sort.
Most of our bills and purchases are on one credit card, and that balance gets paid a few days prior to the statement closing date so the account balance is usually a slight credit on the statement--reporting to the credit bureaus as $0.00. We get a cash back on the credit card we use, with no interest expense or service charges.
Just our way of doing it--your mileage may vary. Only disruption was 8 or 9 years ago when our card was "skimmed" at a gas pump near the Tampa airport while filling a rental car. Card issuer called us the next day since charges were made in FL that didn't add up. We had new cards in about a week, and no issues since. Now that i've written this--odds are THAT will change!!
earl
 
Every 3 to 4 years the wife or I will stop at the bank and get a sheet of 10 checks printed off so we have some around in case we need one, haven't purchased a box of checks since we used the last one from a box 10 to 15 years ago. There is just no need to waist money on checks or stamps with auto pay or online bank pay. Using a check around my area is almost impossible and not worth the hassle especially since a CC is easier and I get cash back once a year from the CC.
 
Muddydogs said:
Every 3 to 4 years the wife or I will stop at the bank and get a sheet of 10 checks printed off so we have some around in case we need one, haven't purchased a box of checks since we used the last one from a box 10 to 15 years ago. There is just no need to waist money on checks or stamps with auto pay or online bank pay. Using a check around my area is almost impossible and not worth the hassle especially since a CC is easier and I get cash back once a year from the CC.
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My wife's checking account charges for checks. However, the account she has does not charge for cashiers checks so whenever she needs to write a check she gets the cashier check for free. Go figure.
 
We pay a printer for checks. Last time I was told, my bank charges for cashier's checks. We rarely pay cash. CC is the way and is paid off in full when we get the statement.
 
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