Not really. Happens enough that you can't call it a surprise to see one, but they're only used in certain niches at this point. I write a check about once a year, for some edge case like I'm paying a contractor who refuses to just get Venmo or equivalent.
Even where they are used (as someone mentioned, you do occasionally see elderly folks write them at the grocery store) they tend to be just a slightly different version of a debit card w/o PIN -- the stores now can instantly run them, there's no way to float one.
I've written about 25 checks for "one-off stuff" in the last year or so, -not including- the checks that pay my electric utility, Internet, trash, water/sewer, auto insurance, and so on. Property taxes are check-only in my area. A lot of kid stuff at school like PTA, reading activities, sports and such are cash or check only. Home maintenance things like painters, gardeners, pool service, trash hauling take checks only. I can't see a way to get along without physical checks, at least in the USA, unless you take a big sweaty wad of cash everywhere you go.
Where in the heck do you live?
Even my kids school had a portal for payments. My yard guy does get paid by check. But I do that via bill pay and the bank sends a check. Even independent painters take Venmo cash app or PayPal
> they tend to be just a slightly different version of a debit card w/o PIN -- the stores now can instantly run them, there's no way to float one.
That's actually the most surprising thing I've heard in this thread. Having that ability would probably go some way toward explaining their longevity. Like I said in another comment, I don't even know if a grocery store / supermarket would accept a cheque here, mostly because they wouldn't have the ability to run them.
Yeah. I don't know the details and I very rarely see them in stores. But there's some sort of system that, as parent says, basically immediately locks the funds so (as I understand it), there's no risk to the store.
I assume things like car dealerships use the system as well. When I bought a car recently I just gave them a personal check which they were fine with. In the past I had to go to my bank and get a cashier's check.
You don't even generally see signs about returned check fees these days.
They're not super-common in general for most use cases but they're still the most straightforward way to make personal payments (other than in-person cash payments) without going through some process that's more involved than giving someone a piece of paper.
Not really. Happens enough that you can't call it a surprise to see one, but they're only used in certain niches at this point. I write a check about once a year, for some edge case like I'm paying a contractor who refuses to just get Venmo or equivalent.
Even where they are used (as someone mentioned, you do occasionally see elderly folks write them at the grocery store) they tend to be just a slightly different version of a debit card w/o PIN -- the stores now can instantly run them, there's no way to float one.