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Post by tuva42 on Aug 9, 2014 2:02:42 GMT
I'm an old fashioned, still-keep-a-check-book and even balance-it-regularly, kind of girl. Not judging anyone, but I'm curious, if you no longer have checks,how you pay for certain things.
How do you send a gift of money to a relative if you have to mail it? We have nieces and nephews that we send gifts to, and sometimes what they want is money toward something they are saving for. So we mail them a check. How would you get money to someone like this if you don't write checks?
I recently had to pay my DD's high school fees. There is no option for credit cards or on-line payment. So I took a check up to the school. It was $154, so it would have been annoying to have to go to the bank and get out that amount, so of course, I write a check. How would you have paid it if you don't have checks?
How do you pay a handyman, and electrician, an appliance repair guy if he has a small business and doesn't accept credit/debit cards? Do you keep a lot of cash on hand?
I'm curious because I'd like to write checks less often, but I don't see how to completely get rid of checks. Fill me in! |
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Post by Skypea on Aug 9, 2014 2:25:53 GMT
I use mostly cash. My major bills (utility) are withdrawn - I use the computer or phone for that.
if I were to send a 'cash' gift (but I don't) I'd get a gc (MC/VISA) from my bank. It costs 4.00. That's what I use to shop online - and sometimes locally. I rarely use a check - I'm about to do that to pay for a book I ordered from a very small ministry - I don't think they are set up to take a cc. oh, and sometimes I'll send a MO. Many places don't take checks anymore. My vet doesn't, my doctor doesn't.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2014 2:34:07 GMT
How do you send a gift of money to a relative if you have to mail it? We have nieces and nephews that we send gifts to, and sometimes what they want is money toward something they are saving for. So we mail them a check. How would you get money to someone like this if you don't write checks?
my on line banking will write and mail the check for you. free. to anywhere.
I still write a few checks, though...like yours.
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Post by roxley on Aug 9, 2014 2:39:16 GMT
About the only place I write a check to now is my children's school. Maybe a couple of times a year to a small family owned business. We give nieces and nephews cash or gift cards. They don't use checks either so it would be a pain for them to try to cash them. A book of checks will last a couple of years.
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Post by AussieMeg on Aug 9, 2014 2:39:19 GMT
How do you send a gift of money to a relative if you have to mail it? We have nieces and nephews that we send gifts to, and sometimes what they want is money toward something they are saving for. So we mail them a check. How would you get money to someone like this if you don't write checks?
I recently had to pay my DD's high school fees. There is no option for credit cards or on-line payment. So I took a check up to the school. It was $154, so it would have been annoying to have to go to the bank and get out that amount, so of course, I write a check. How would you have paid it if you don't have checks?
How do you pay a handyman, and electrician, an appliance repair guy if he has a small business and doesn't accept credit/debit cards? Do you keep a lot of cash on hand? Gifts of money - I have no relatives interstate that I would send money to, so gifts of money are given in person with cash. If I DID have relatives interstate I guess I would send them a gift Visa card. High school fees - I am stunned that in the year 2014 there are places such as schools that don't have EFT or CC options. That amazes me beyond words. Tradesmen - I pay by EFT or cash. I never have a lot of cash on me, so I would go up the street to the ATM and get some out. |
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Post by Linda on Aug 9, 2014 2:44:36 GMT
I can't remember the last time I needed a cheque - and I almost never have cash on hand either. I use my debit card, online banking and paypal exclusively. I think the only time I need cash is to pay for Girl Scout and school stuff occasionally - and even that is moving towards e-options. When I do need cash, I don't usually go to the bank - I just get cash back at the register when I'm getting groceries.
I don't send cash gifts - ever. I use paypal to reimburse my sister if I ask her to pick up mum's gift locally (she's an hour away, I'm 18 hrs away from mum). I transfer money regularly between my bank account and Simon's - if I ask him to pick up a gallon of milk, I just transfer the $4.38 (and wow, has milk gotten expensive) to him online.
Handymen? The only one we've ever needed is the a/c guy and they take debit/credit
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Post by gypsymama on Aug 9, 2014 2:47:55 GMT
my husband's last 3 jobs didn't even have an option for direct deposit so we have to go to the bank every week anyway... i don't understand how someone would have no way to cash a check. and i've never done an EFT for anything myself personally... i guess there are some places i've given my checking account info to that takes it out as an EFT but if i was to send money from my account to someone else's i'd have to have enough info on their account to be able to steal all their money so i don't really see that happening over here. and it costs a good bit to send money from my account to someone else's, i want to say it was $15 the last time i did it years ago.
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Post by smokeynspike on Aug 9, 2014 2:56:47 GMT
I still have checks, I just don't write them very often (a few a year, at most). At this stage of my life, when I find myself writing one out it is for my child's school. I don't give checks or money as gifts either. I will give a gift card for somewhere that I think the person would like, but not cash. Not for a wedding, not for a birthday, not ever.
I work at a bank and people still write checks, but the vast majority of them are to businesses these days.
Melissa
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Post by annabella on Aug 9, 2014 3:15:48 GMT
I use checks but I think with handymen you can pay by credit card over the phone, I had one guy take my card and call it in to his company. My father sent me a Visa gift card for Christmas and my birthday. I later found a polite way to tell him that using it was inconvenient (because I couldn't use it everywhere, couldn't combine it with my own money for online purchases and websites only allow on credit card and had to manually keep up with their balances) and would prefer he just pick a store like Amazon and get me a gift card to it. I remember back in the day my mother getting money orders for things, so that's still an option. My mother doesn't have a credit card so if she asks me to buy her something online with my credit card, she knows my bank account number and will go to any branch and deposit money into it so I don't have to wait until I next see her. Knowing my bank account number doesn't give her access to take money out of it. It's written on the bottom of your checks so it's public. |
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Post by annabella on Aug 9, 2014 3:16:52 GMT
I just remembered that my co-worker has to go to the bank every month to get cash to pay her landlord, he doesn't want checks.
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YooHoot
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,418 
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Post by YooHoot on Aug 9, 2014 3:29:01 GMT
I have checks but rarely write them. Mostly for school stuff. I can usually get a box of checks to last a couple years.  For gifts, I send a gift card or cash ($20-$25). |
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scrapaddie
Drama Llama
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Post by scrapaddie on Aug 9, 2014 3:31:52 GMT
I still write a few checks. There's one to church every month, several charities throughout the year, and every other month I write a check for Stampin' Up! All my bills are paid online. And I use my credit card for most purchases.. I rarely have more than a few dollars in my purse
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Post by KiwiJo on Aug 9, 2014 3:40:20 GMT
We have all sorts of options to pay people electronically.
examples:
Many tradespeople have portable electronic terminals that accept debit and/or credit cards.
Taxi cabs have these - I just swipe my credit card through their little machine, and my cab fare is paid.
99.9% of invoices have the owner's bank account number on it. So the electrician gives me an invoice, then I log into my bank account, enter his bank account number and the amount to transfer. The bank takes the money out of my account and puts it into the electrician's.
People I pay regularly, like my lawn mower man - I have his bank account number set up as a 'Bill Pay' when I log into my bank account. I log in, select Lawnmower Man from my list of Bill Pays, enter the amount and when I want to pay. Easy.
Like Aussie M eg, I would probably send a pre-paid Visa card as a gift. They can use it anywhere.
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Post by scrapsotime on Aug 9, 2014 3:41:04 GMT
The ones I would send money to have accounts at a credit union in the same network as mine. I can send money to them free of charge and have it deposited in their accounts. I could also send it to my sister's Paypal account and have her give it to them.
ETA: We still have checks. We just use very few. The lawn guy gets a check, but that's the only one i can think of at the moment.
I almost forgot, there is an Amish store that I go to occasionally. They only accept cash or checks. It is a bit out of the way, so I know I need cash when I am heading there. I never carry the checkbook.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2014 3:43:46 GMT
We do keep a few cheques on hand, but rarely use them.
We don't send monetary gifts.
We do pay for more expensive school trips with a check.
I've never had a repair person that didn't take debit or credit. Some prefer to take cash, but they will take a card if we don't have enough cash on hand.
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Post by KiwiJo on Aug 9, 2014 3:49:39 GMT
.............. but if i was to send money from my account to someone else's i'd have to have enough info on their account to be able to steal all their money so i don't really see that happening over here. and it costs a good bit to send money from my account to someone else's, i want to say it was $15 the last time i did it.... I don't see how sending money from one bank account to another could, possibly let you steal from the other account. How could it?? When you pay with a check, it has your bank account written on it, doesn't it? That doesn't let the person you gave it to, get into your bank account and steal your money.Exactly the same as them giving me their bank account number to transfer money into, doesn't let me get into their account. Our fees are the reverse of yours. No fees at all for electronic transactions. Banks charge fees only on transactions that involve bank staff - like handling checks. But the fee for banking a check is only about 30c. |
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moodyblue
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Post by moodyblue on Aug 9, 2014 3:51:12 GMT
Like Aussie M eg, I would probably send a pre-paid Visa card as a gift. They can use it anywhere. I have only done this once, and then decided not to go that route again. In the past many of them had fees if they weren't used in a certain amount of time, and they could be difficult to use if you didn't know the exact amount on it because some places couldn't do a transaction with more than one credit card. I think things are better now, but I believe there is a huge amount of unspent money floating around with these. I find that it works better to give plain old cash or write a check - and all the checks I've sent have always been cashed, and the whole balance is available to the recipient plus I don't have to pay any extra fees like when buying a pre-paid card. |
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Post by KiwiJo on Aug 9, 2014 4:00:47 GMT
Like Aussie M eg, I would probably send a pre-paid Visa card as a gift. They can use it anywhere. I have only done this once, and then decided not to go that route again. In the past many of them had fees if they weren't used in a certain amount of time, and they could be difficult to use if you didn't know the exact amount on it because some places couldn't do a transaction with more than one credit card. I think things are better now, but I believe there is a huge amount of unspent money floating around with these. I find that it works better to give plain old cash or write a check - and all the checks I've sent have always been cashed, and the whole balance is available to the recipient plus I don't have to pay any extra fees like when buying a pre-paid card. All this shows how very different monetary systems are, around the world, doesn't it! We can invariably check the balance of pre-paid cards online (and top them up if we want to). The problem I would have with sending a check is finding the check book.  I suppose we have one somewhere, but I haven't seen it for years. |
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Post by AussieMeg on Aug 9, 2014 4:10:27 GMT
if i was to send money from my account to someone else's i'd have to have enough info on their account to be able to steal all their money so i don't really see that happening over here. and it costs a good bit to send money from my account to someone else's, i want to say it was $15 the last time i did it years ago. Maybe it works differently in your country but I'm really not understanding how you would be able to "steal all their money" ?? If I want to transfer money to Kiwi Jo's account she would give me her BSB and account number and I would transfer the money from my account to hers. I don't have her electronic banking code or password, so I can't get into her account. She doesn't have access to my details so she can't get into mine. As for your second point, it costs nothing nada zilch zero to transfer money to anyone's account. $15 is highway robbery, so if it still costs that where you live I'm not surprised you don't want to do it! |
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Post by misadventurous on Aug 9, 2014 4:12:18 GMT
How do you send a gift of money to a relative if you have to mail it? We have nieces and nephews that we send gifts to, and sometimes what they want is money toward something they are saving for. So we mail them a check. How would you get money to someone like this if you don't write checks? I either set them up in my online banking system and have the bank send them a check, or (more frequently) I will send via Paypal - all you need is their email address or cell phone number and Paypal does the rest.
Nearly every professional person (hair stylist, mobile car wash guys, electrician, etc) I deal with these days uses Square with their mobile phone to accept credit cards.
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gapsmommy
Shy Member
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Post by gapsmommy on Aug 9, 2014 4:25:29 GMT
Like Aussie M eg, I would probably send a pre-paid Visa card as a gift. They can use it anywhere. I have only done this once, and then decided not to go that route again. In the past many of them had fees if they weren't used in a certain amount of time, and they could be difficult to use if you didn't know the exact amount on it because some places couldn't do a transaction with more than one credit card. I think things are better now, but I believe there is a huge amount of unspent money floating around with these. I find that it works better to give plain old cash or write a check - and all the checks I've sent have always been cashed, and the whole balance is available to the recipient plus I don't have to pay any extra fees like when buying a pre-paid card. We have been given these prepaid Visa cards as gifts recently and as great as they supposedly are, I have found them very inconvenient to try to use as well. The buyers/givers of these cards probably don't realize that there is a ton of fine print inside the packaging. If your recipient doesn't read this info they will probably be disappointed when trying to use it and if they don't use it within a certain amount of time they do start deducting monthly fees. The easiest way to use them is to buy something for the exact amount of the card, don't leave a balance to try and use up later. Personally, I would much rather receive a check!  |
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moodyblue
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Post by moodyblue on Aug 9, 2014 4:34:17 GMT
How do you send a gift of money to a relative if you have to mail it? We have nieces and nephews that we send gifts to, and sometimes what they want is money toward something they are saving for. So we mail them a check. How would you get money to someone like this if you don't write checks? I either set them up in my online banking system and have the bank send them a check, or (more frequently) I will send via Paypal - all you need is their email address or cell phone number and Paypal does the rest.
Nearly every professional person (hair stylist, mobile car wash guys, electrician, etc) I deal with these days uses Square with their mobile phone to accept credit cards.
I agree that systems like Square are becoming more common, but a lot of service people still aren't using this. And if you are having your bank send a check - you are still using checks even if you aren't personally writing them.  |
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Post by JBeans on Aug 9, 2014 4:35:25 GMT
I'm an old fashioned, still-keep-a-check-book and even balance-it-regularly, kind of girl. Not judging anyone, but I'm curious, if you no longer have checks,how you pay for certain things.
How do you send a gift of money to a relative if you have to mail it? We have nieces and nephews that we send gifts to, and sometimes what they want is money toward something they are saving for. So we mail them a check. How would you get money to someone like this if you don't write checks?
I recently had to pay my DD's high school fees. There is no option for credit cards or on-line payment. So I took a check up to the school. It was $154, so it would have been annoying to have to go to the bank and get out that amount, so of course, I write a check. How would you have paid it if you don't have checks?
How do you pay a handyman, and electrician, an appliance repair guy if he has a small business and doesn't accept credit/debit cards? Do you keep a lot of cash on hand?
I'm curious because I'd like to write checks less often, but I don't see how to completely get rid of checks. Fill me in! I go to an ATM and pull cash to pay school fees. I also have an option to pay those fees online. The summer camp I sent my kid to wanted a cheque and don't take debit/credit. I asked and they take email transfer. Done! As for handymen, we have email transfer payments through our banking institutions. I don't have anyone to mail cheques to for gifts. I hate cheques. Having to cash them at my institution is not convenient because my closest branch is really out of the way. There is one if our banks that has it set up that you can deposit a cheque by taking a phone picture of it through their app. Sadly, that is not my bank. I wish it was!! You guys have email bank transfers, don't you? |
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Post by lightetc on Aug 9, 2014 4:37:30 GMT
I don't think I've ever had a cheque book in my name for any of my accounts.. As KiwiJo and AussieMeg have said, electronic transfers are free. Our tradesmen and small businesses are more likely to take Eftpos than a cheque.
My rent is an automatic transfer set up in my online banking, all my bills (electricity, phone, etc) are paid through online banking.
I don't send cash as gifts but will send a giftcard because it makes more sense than sending the bottle of wine.
My grandmother has started depositing money directly into our accounts then sending the receipt with our birthday cards. This way she doesn't have to try and balance her accounts when her silly grandchildren forget to deposit their cheques, and as she still goes to the bank regularly, this isn't out of her way.
I do write cheques as Girl Guide/Scout leader. Because we don't have a keycard linked to that account, we write cheques to pay for anything we need to run the unit. They are currently getting together the rules that will allow us to bank online - either accepting term fees or paying bills, but until they sort out the paper trail and 2 signature accountability we're stuck with the cheque book. We accept cheques but as no-one has a cheque book anymore, people pay in cash.
I know the banking system here in Australia is very different to the USA. But 99.9% of payments here can be made electronically. Even craft stalls or fruit stands are more likely to take card than take cheques.
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Post by JBeans on Aug 9, 2014 4:45:14 GMT
my husband's last 3 jobs didn't even have an option for direct deposit so we have to go to the bank every week anyway... i don't understand how someone would have no way to cash a check. and i've never done an EFT for anything myself personally... i guess there are some places i've given my checking account info to that takes it out as an EFT but if i was to send money from my account to someone else's i'd have to have enough info on their account to be able to steal all their money so i don't really see that happening over here. and it costs a good bit to send money from my account to someone else's, i want to say it was $15 the last time i did it years ago. When I send an email transfer, all I do is ask for their email address and agree on a password. I go into my online banking site and set up the payment. They get an email, follow the instructions and enter the password. Voila. I don't know any of their banking info, not even an account number. But hey, I know a bank account number if someone hands me a cheque because it's printed right in it. Email transfers are a wonderful thing! |
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Post by KiwiJo on Aug 9, 2014 6:18:38 GMT
............. If your recipient doesn't read this info they will probably be disappointed when trying to use it and if they don't use it within a certain amount of time they do start deducting monthly fees. The easiest way to use them is to buy something for the exact amount of the card, don't leave a balance to try and use up later. Personally, I would much rather receive a check! Ah, things really are different where you are then. I wouldn't use pre-paid Visa under those conditions either. The ones I use don't incur any fees for the recipient, unless they are used overseas, in which case there are currency exchange fees and so on. The card seller gets their whack when the card is bought - I pay $5.95 (I think that's the amount) for the card, plus the amount I load onto it. |
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Post by Skypea on Aug 9, 2014 8:14:37 GMT
............. If your recipient doesn't read this info they will probably be disappointed when trying to use it and if they don't use it within a certain amount of time they do start deducting monthly fees. The easiest way to use them is to buy something for the exact amount of the card, don't leave a balance to try and use up later. Personally, I would much rather receive a check! Ah, things really are different where you are then. I wouldn't use pre-paid Visa under those conditions either. The ones I use don't incur any fees for the recipient, unless they are used overseas, in which case there are currency exchange fees and so on. The card seller gets their whack when the card is bought - I pay $5.95 (I think that's the amount) for the card, plus the amount I load onto it.
I found the cards you can buy in a store are more expensive and have more restrictions, requirements on them. You can reload a card tho. IIRC they charged to reload it tho. That was more than it cost me at the bank to get a new card.
It was my bank teller who suggested I buy cards at a store. He thought they'd be cheaper for me but I didn't find that to be so. I'd rather just get a card when I need it and not worry about reloading one or pay more to do that than it cost to get a new one. I only pay 4.00 for a card (available to put up to 500.00 on one). The 4.00 is worth it to me in convenience and since it is usually to shop online I consider the cost of gas I would have used going from one store to another and the exhaustion I'd suffer if I did that.
Also, here I can use them anywhere - I've used them at regular stores (T, W, HD, restaurants etc) and at gas stations, my doctor, the vet. One of my local gas stations will take any small amounts I have left on a card toward gas. Once I used about 5 cards that totaled up to about 8.00 toward my gas. I had the amounts listed out for him. I can check the balance of a card online thru my bank. It shows a list of where I used it and the amount - so I can keep track.
Also, my cards are valid for 3 or 4 yrs. Of course, they never have money on them for that long!
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Post by gar on Aug 9, 2014 8:34:45 GMT
If i was to send money from my account to someone else's i'd have to have enough info on their account to be able to steal all their money so i don't really see that happening over here. Do you think if that was the case that the UK, Australia etc just haven't figured that out yet or just don't mind regularly having their account emptied? No, it's commonly done, is free here, and doesn't allow you to steal anyone else's money or them to steal yours, honest. |
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BarbaraUK
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Post by BarbaraUK on Aug 9, 2014 8:58:26 GMT
if i was to send money from my account to someone else's i'd have to have enough info on their account to be able to steal all their money so i don't really see that happening over here. and it costs a good bit to send money from my account to someone else's, i want to say it was $15 the last time i did it years ago. Maybe it works differently in your country but I'm really not understanding how you would be able to "steal all their money" ?? If I want to transfer money to Kiwi Jo's account she would give me her BSB and account number and I would transfer the money from my account to hers. I don't have her electronic banking code or password, so I can't get into her account. She doesn't have access to my details so she can't get into mine. As for your second point, it costs nothing nada zilch zero to transfer money to anyone's account. $15 is highway robbery, so if it still costs that where you live I'm not surprised you don't want to do it! That, exactly! I use electronic banking all the time one way or another, I've only needed to use a cheque very rarely and certainly don't to keep a lot of cash on hand! A lot of tradespeople here use the Paypal, or similar, phone app for payment of accounts. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2014 9:07:23 GMT
We have a variety of different visa cards here depending on what you need it for.
Visa prepaid cards generally look just like normal credit or debit cards, carrying all the same features (such as the card number, expiry date and security code).
Travel cards – for spending money abroad, enabling you to separate out your holiday spending
Convenience cards – ideal for people who may not qualify for a traditional debit or credit card
Youth cards – specifically designed for younger people, enabling them (and their parents) to control and monitor their spending
Gift cards – a safe, convenient and fun way to give money to friends or family
Virtual cards – a prepaid card account that’s specifically designed for online, mail-order and telephone spending.
Depending on which particular option you choose, a Visa prepaid card may be:
A disposable prepaid card, which is much like an electronic gift voucher – you use it until all the funds are spent (and you’re happy with your purchase) then throw it away
or
A re-loadable prepaid card, which acts like a prepaid mobile phone account – when the value is running low, you can top-it up and use it again.
I pay all utility bills via direct debit payment. I find it far more convenient and eliminates the risk of " forgetting" to pay a bill on time. We still get a bill for our records but only for info. The bank will take care of the payment.
Our banking system must be so different to yours from what I read here. I can go to my bank and pay anyone provided we have the sort code ( code for a particular bank) and the recipients account number or we can do it on-line with the same info. The info is written on cheques so there's no need for the recipient to disclose any other info. I wouldn't have access to their account with just that amount of info so there's no security risk whatsoever to anyone's account.
And as KiwiJo said the UK is very similar. Most, if not all reputable tradesmen will give you an invoice with their bank details printed on it.
I do most of my food and other retail shopping with a debit card that is linked directly to the bank.Debit cards over here are directly linked to your bank account. The money comes out immediately. You can access balances,transfer money, pay bills,pay in and make withdrawals from our ATM's. So you don't really need to have on-line banking if you didn't want to. I very rarely use my credit card unless I particularly want the extra protection it gives you if things go wrong. If I do, I pay it off each month when the statement comes in.
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I suppose we have one somewhere, but I haven't seen it for years.
