Checks predate debit cards and e-transfers by at least a millenia.
Debit cards replaced cheques in the 1990s in advanced countries. Less advanced countries like the US had to wait until the 2010s.
this post was submitted on 13 Jan 2024
13 points (100.0% liked)
Moving to: m/AskMbin!
178 readers
1 users here now
### We are moving! **Join us in our new journey as we take a new direction towards the future for this community at mbin, find our new community here and read this post to know more about why we are moving. Thank you and we hope to see you there!**
founded 1 year ago
Checks were unpopular in the US well before the 2010s and everyone had debit cards well before that.
Cheques were unpopular and the US was overly reliant on credit cards.
US debit card usage in 2010 was at least 15 years behind Canada. We had tap and chip cards before you guys even accepted debit cards. E.g. San Francisco's and Seattle's transit systems didn't even accept them at all until 2017. Vancouver accepted them some 20 years earlier.
Tap and chip didn't catch on until the 2010s for sure, but debit cards in general were everywhere in the US. They just had a barcode you swiped.
Millenia?
Bro. Ffs.
When I was young my mom would write a check for groceries on Wednesday and pray it didn't clear until my dad got paid Friday. So short term loan for food purpose?
Checks are completely phased out in NZ. You can't even get checkbooks here anymore.
so futuristic, what are the steps to get there?
Idk if they are phased out in my country, but I have never seen people using them (only in American movies, but not irl) or even talking about them, not even in the 90s. Using them it sound so archaic and ancient
Seeing a lot of "only idiot cavemen don't use debit cards", but in my case it's for cash security. If there is theft or fraud that money is not available until the bank decides my report is legitimate. With a credit card that's not the case. Where I can't use a credit card I use a check with some extra security info.
Sometimes people pay with checks when they're waiting for money to hit their account, like if it's a day before their payday, because businesses usually don't cash checks until the following day.
This is a bad practice and I do not recommend anyone do it.
It’s kinda like that. More of a promissory note bc debit balances can be checked at the point of purchase. Easier to balance your account if you’re not able to use internet reliably too. They almost all have carbon copies for each check and a balance ledger.
I really only have them for big purchases. A lot of businesses added a ~2% fee for using cards on things over $1000. Which is more than I want to pay when I’m already dropping $10k on house repair or something.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Money isn't taken out of the account until the cheque is cashed, for one.
Which makes it harder for people to keep track of their expenses. Which in turn is why "balancing the checkbook" used to be a regular chore for almost everyone and is now a chore for almost no one.
Business owner here. Balanced accounting is still very much a thriving industry and when you're dealing with large amounts of money, net 30 terms or paying with checks means those dollars spend a few more days/weeks in your account accruing interest for you.
Balancing the checkbook isn't a chore anymore not because we don't use checks, but because technology makes the balancing bit so much more automated. I enter one transaction and the software automatically creates the necessary debit and credit entries in my books.
They are a hangover from a time before debit cards existed
its like a little paper contract, guaranteeing you will pay that amount.
that its paper means theres a physical record both parties get to keep.
It's a holdout from when your options were cheque or cash (debit cards hadn't been created yet). Cheque is the more secure option as its use can be cancelled/reported as fraud. Cash is just gone once handed over, so it can be stolen from you easily.
Most places won't accept cheques anymore. Mostly just grocery stores. (food is a necessity and the elderly don't like change)
It's interesting that that's the case in America because in the UK absolutely no shops accept cheques
It's becoming extremely uncommon, I've never actually seen one used, just signs at a few groceries listing cheques as an option.
yea I just saw some dude use one today, and none of the employees knew what to do lol
In the US, checks are much worse than paying with a credit or debit card. It is much cheaper for a merchant to take checks than either type of card, so that is why they're usually used.
Also, the person in question might be very poor / bad with money and unable to get a credit or debit card.
If you can get checks, you can get a debit card and vice versa. Each just relies on having a checking account.