Paying by check...

[Katamarino]

The US financial system is a creaking old fashioned cobbled together disaster. Europe and Asia are decades ahead in terms of easy online and electronic payments. Heck, even Africa is way out in front of the USA when it comes to things like mobile banking.

It's bizarre. Nearly as awful as your healthcare setup

 

[James331]

DPE fees for checkride seem to be my most recent ones

Cash it at the issuing bank and don’t declare it on their taxes?


I have a couple check books, aside from my hangar owned by a yocal government, I can’t think who else I need to use a check for, think private industry decided making it EASIER to give them your money was a better idea lol.

 

[Shawn]

I write probably one check every two months at most now.

EVERYTHING goes on my Marriott or Southwest Visa card that I can put on it (a bit of points whore)

NEVER use my debit card anywhere.

All else is on auto bill pay where my bank pushes out the payments. With the exception of my credit cards, I NEVER allow any vendor to pull directly from my account.

I am still baffled by people that write checks in the supermarket line..."here...have a pice pf paper with all of my personal and account information!"...thinking it is somehow safer...newsflash, that check is now a days is digitized then processed that that piece of paper no longer even needs to wind up at the bank.

 

[cessna182b]

What I love is people who write checks in the express checkout lane in the grocery store. That should be grounds for capital punishment.

Did you ever notice that most of these folks will wait until the entire sale is rung up before even starting to look for their checkbook (or whatever they use)?

Dave

 

[Sundancer]

For sure - do have a care on auto-pay from your checking account. Just don't give anyone access to your bank account, particularly retail establishments, like a gym, for example. Probably OK for your insurance company or brokerage, I guess. Debit card protections are much weaker than those for checks. Heck, loose your checkbook and ID, and the bank still takes the loss if the documents are used for fraud.

I remember working in banking while in college - people would write heir PIN numbers on their debit cards. Also, much harder to attach your pay than your checking account, just FYI. . .

 

[James331]

The US financial system is a creaking old fashioned cobbled together disaster. Europe and Asia are decades ahead in terms of easy online and electronic payments. Heck, even Africa is way out in front of the USA when it comes to things like mobile banking.

It's bizarre. Nearly as awful as your healthcare setup

As I recall in a few places in Africa you need to prove citizenship or a visa to get a bank account too.

But I’d say we are fine in the US, most places you have half a million options for payment, only thing I’d adopt is needing proof of citizenship (though not kept on file) to open a bank account or cash a check.

 

[cessna182b]

I don't see why a mailed check would be any safer than a card.

Think about it, this piece of paper has your name, probably address, possibly phone#, and sometimes even DL number on it plus your checking account and routing information. You then stick this paper in an envelope and stick in a box by the road for a few hours. Then that envelope gets picked up by some guy, run through a big physical sorting place with a bunch of people in it, gets passed around to a few facilities maybe, then finally it ends up in the hands of another guy who will carry it to another box, possibly also by the side of the road where it will sit for a few hours until someone picks it up. Checkbook gets stolen and they can write stuff on that all day long too.

A credit card payment online gets routed through strong encryption, handled by machines on both ends, and if someone steals it you can just shut it down. Sure, the number may be in a database somewhere but the access to it is limited. If it does get stolen, again with one phone call it gets shut down and either way you're not held liable for the charges with any card company these days. So far I've been using cards and electronic payments for about 18 years or so, once I had a fraudulent charge and the card company called me before I'd even seen it- owed nothing. Seems secure enough.

Another factor is theft of mail. There have been numerous reports of mail having been taken from residential mailboxes around here. It hasn't happened to me yet - but there is a first time for everything.

I have had my credit card info stolen by way of a jimmied gas pump while travelling. I noticed the bogus charges (all fuel purchases in the area where it happened) - and notified the bank. They wasted no time
in cancelling the charges and replacing my card with one having a different number. I didn't lose anything in the affair.

Dave

 

[Katamarino]

But I’d say we are fine in the US, most places you have half a million options for payment, only thing I’d adopt is needing proof of citizenship (though not kept on file) to open a bank account or cash a check.

I had to provide a SSN and proof of my permission to be in the US to open a bank account. Proof of citizenship would be a bit stupid; nobody on a work visa is allowed a bank account any more? How would they get paid? Clearly not by check if you also need to be a citizen to cash it...?

 

[James331]

I had to provide a SSN and proof of my permission to be in the US to open a bank account. Proof of citizenship would be a bit stupid; nobody on a work visa is allowed a bank account any more? How would they get paid? Clearly not by check if you also need to be a citizen to cash it...?

citizen OR valid visa

 

[mryan75]

Did you ever notice that most of these folks will wait until the entire sale is rung up before even starting to look for their checkbook (or whatever they use)?

Dave

Oh yeah - never fails.

 

[BillyBH]

Really nothing but electronic transactions over here in Europe. I can do them straight from my phone now too. We have one guy at church who pays his tithes by check still and makes a bit of extra work for us. Of course Europe still loves cash too. Most restaurants (outside the major cities) still don’t take credit cards.

I think it’s interesting that Europe kind of leads with the whole data privacy laws but people give out their bank data like candy. Then again, writing a check gives anyone your bank data too so I guess not a big deal.

This has NOT been my experience. I just returned from a cruise around Great Britain with stops in Ireland, Scotland and England. Apple Pay was accepted everywhere, including roadside snack stands.

 

[NealRomeoGolf]

This has NOT been my experience. I just returned from a cruise around Great Britain with stops in Ireland, Scotland and England. Apple Pay was accepted everywhere, including roadside snack stands.

You’re welcome to come to my town in Germany and enhance your experience.