Why do people still write checks as payments in stores?

Question

Why do we still see (edit: in the US) some people (especially the elderly) still pay with checks in stores, even when the amount isn't too large for a debit card?

Here are the disadvantages I can think of, compared to (say) debit cards:

• Checkbooks are heavier than debit cards

• You can run out of checks

• They take much longer to write

• They hold up the entire line far longer than normal

• It's much easier to make a mistake on them and waste more time fixing it

• You leak your account number

• You leak your signature

• You leak your name, address, and whatever else is on your check

• It's much easier to press a couple keys than write down one hundred thirty-five dollars and thirty-six cents.

Here are the advantages I can think of:

• (Nothing)

I assume the only reason stores still accept them is that people still use them, but for the life of me I can't figure that part out. Why does anyone still write checks in stores for amounts that are clearly small enough that you could use a debit card? What is the benefit?

Answer 1

I write very few checks, but putting myself in the place of people that do, I can think of several advantages. Now, not all of these might seem like advantages to you or me, but they only need to be seen as advantages to the people using the checks.

1. Checks are physical pieces of paper. Some people don't like or understand electronic payments. A written check is a document that you hand to the store. Your duplicate check or check register is a physical record of your payment, and your returned check is evidence that the payment was completed.

2. Checks have lower expenses to the merchant than credit or debit cards. If I am shopping at a mom-and-pop store that a friend owns, writing a check will cost me the same as using a credit or debit card, but the store owner keeps more and the bank keeps less. (I have written checks before for this exact reason, and continue to write checks for non-profit giving for this reason.)

3. Checks can be seen as safer than credit or debit cards. You might argue that this isn't true, but in my limited experience, it is: I have had many instances of fraudulent credit and debit card transactions, but have never experienced check fraud.

4. You don't need to remember a PIN to use a check.

Again, you might have arguments with each of these, and in your mind, they are valid arguments. But I think that the thinking of check writers is along these lines.

Answer 2

Just as the younger generations doesn't automatically receive a box of checks when they open a checking account, the older generations didn't automatically get a debit card. Therefore each generation has a method of paying they are comfortable with.

Though I hardly ever use checks, I also never use the debit card. I do use it as a ATM card, but if I am at a store and I am going to use plastic I am going to put it on a credit card.

Both plastic and paper have risks. Both have time lags between presenting to the cashier and having the money withdrawn. I have seen checks scanned instantly, and I have seen debit cards take days to appear on the bank website.

I have seen slow customers and fast customers at the store, and it doesn't matter which method they use.

Both have methods to prevent overdrafts, but users of either can and do frequently overdraft their accounts.

As to benefits. Comfort is a big part of it. It makes it hard for the one side to understand the benefits that the other method has.

Answer 3

Perhaps they have checkbooks and don't have debit/check cards. Or they don't know how the debit/check card works.

Alternately, perhaps the account is shared, so both spouses can write checks, but only one spouse has a debit/check card.

It's also worth remembering that some stores keep the credit card details. So if they are ever cracked, they leak sufficient information that people can process charges on the internet with even less protections than checks have. Each check requires a signature and if someone tries to use it in Thailand, then it's going to be pretty obvious that it's not the elderly person in Iowa that's using it. By contrast, if someone uses a credit card online to pay a fake business in Iowa, that looks legit until they transfer the money to Nigeria. And that transfer is not visible to the card processor.

Sure, one can avoid that by avoiding the problematic stores. But most elderly (and even many younger people) aren't going to track store credit card policies that closely.

Answer 4

Why does anyone still write checks in stores for amounts that are clearly small enough that you could use a debit card? What is the benefit?

Again answers depends on geography; Generally ...

• Habit, difficult to change
• Comfort. Older people find it more difficult to adapt. They enter the amount etc ... where as on debit card, someone does. They are afraid something may go wrong and more money is lost. They don't understand the dispute mechanism.
• One can put a hold on check. It give a sense of better control
• One need not have money in the Bank at the time of writing check. Generally the merchant would take a day or two to deposit and few days to clear.

So mostly it comes to psychological reasons.

Answer 5

One reason that no one has mentioned yet is that if I write a check, I know (from the counterfoil, and the register) just who I wrote that check to, when, and for how much. I also know how much money I have in the account, so I don't accidentally spend more than is there, which I might if I used a debit card. On-line payments from the checking account also go in the register, so (barring math errors) I always have a handy record of the account balance, and who got paid.

That said, I very seldom use actual checks, and never in stores. I either pay cash, or use a credit card - and when I use a card, I may not even bother to note the actual sale amount.

Just for interest, the last actual check I wrote was in August 2017, to a neighbor. That was the only one that year.

Answer 6

Despite the legal protections afforded to debit card users, there remain safety concerns that don't exist with credit cards. While credit card fraud can create short term hassle, the hassle from debit card fraud can adversely impact the victim's financial life for many years.

For those who therefore avoid debit cards completely (like myself), the payment methods available in most stores are cash, checks, or credit cards.

Cash is relatively fast, sometimes faster than credit cards. But prices rise, the government won't put larger bills into circulation, some vendors are leery of cash (especially larger bills) for fear of counterfeiting, and many people are uncomfortable carrying enough cash to handle all the transactions they're likely to make in an outing. Bills and coins are also notoriously dirty. Cash transactions produce the smallest audit trail--which may be a benefit or a detriment depending on your perspective.

Credit cards can be problematic for some. Many people are overextended. Some have difficulty controlling their spending when using credit cards. Even folks who use credit cards as a convenience and pay everything off each month might have reasons to limit what they put on credit. Some are trying to limit how much credit they utilize during the application process for a loan or mortgage. Though less common now, there was once a popular belief that life's essentials (like food, clothing, and consumable household goods) should never be bought on credit. The electronic processing of transactions is not without its problems--I reconcile my credit card statements thoroughly and find significant errors at least once a year.

Checks have a lot of nice fraud protections and produce an audit trail that's useful to the payor. I haven't seen any credit or debit cards with a little display showing the user their balance. But every time I open my checkbook, I see the running total in my check register, and it's trivial to update it as I write out a check. And my total is more up-to-date, since it includes pending transactions that haven't posted yet.

In summary, every method of payment has pro and cons. There is no method that is universally right for every person for every transaction.

Answer 7

A lot of independent trade people (electricians, plumbers, handymen) aren't set up to take plastic. In a lot of cases I suspect it is because they either aren't tech savvy or want to encourage cash for whatever reason.

When I am paying them, especially for my rental-property business, I will give them a check because it is easier than cash and gives me a paper trail that I paid them.

Answer 8

Another that I'm not sure has been mentioned: Physical proof of the transaction. In the old days, the banks returned your cashed checks so you had proof the payment had been accepted. Now, they generally make images of the cashed checks available online, which again serves as proof that the payment reached a specific account.