teddyw
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,068
Jun 29, 2014 1:56:04 GMT
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Post by teddyw on Jun 22, 2022 20:00:40 GMT
Only if I’m forced.
I also get completely annoyed by the older women who wait til the cashier has almost bagged everything and then decide to get their checkbook out. I honestly have never seen a man write a check at the grocery store.
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edie3
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,631
Jun 26, 2014 1:03:18 GMT
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Post by edie3 on Jun 22, 2022 20:07:38 GMT
Well, now that I have heard from everyone (LOL) I found some more checks. All is good in the world.
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Post by papersilly on Jun 22, 2022 21:31:28 GMT
Only if I’m forced. I also get completely annoyed by the older women who wait til the cashier has almost bagged everything and then decide to get their checkbook out. I honestly have never seen a man write a check at the grocery store. i will be the first to admit that i am not a patient person. when someone is pulling this check stunt in front of us at costco, i always mutter "good god, who still writes checks?" in a not so quiet way and sometimes with arms being thrown up. mind you, the cashier can use the check writer at the register to fill in the check. payer just needs to sign it. but nooooooo, they have to fill in the entire thing, double check, show it to the cashier and ask "is this okay?" before handing it over. DH, with the patience to watch cement dry, will shush me but i'm pretty much dead at that point.
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Post by KiwiJo on Jun 22, 2022 21:41:30 GMT
I think one issue in the US is the number of banks we have. There are close to 5,000 banks in the US, plus almost the same number of credit unions. Getting all those banks to get on to a new system is not easy. The top 4 (Chase, BofA, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup) have the resources to implement new technology, but smaller banks would struggle to keep up. Those top 4 have less than 50% of the US bank share. And merchants are slow to implement new payment terminals because of the cost. I am sure eventually we'll catch up to the rest of the world in terms of electronic transaction, but it will take time. Invoice?? We've had about 4 different gardeners in the past 25 years. None of them gave us invoices. We just pay them at the end of the month. Lot of house cleaners operate the same way here. Exactly. When my DH goes to a client’s home to do some work, he hands them a bill and expects to be paid right then at the time of service. We don’t send out invoices. Most people pay with a check, some people pay with a credit card and a very few hand him a wad of cash. But the bill that he hands them is surely an invoice? It doesn’t have to be pre-printed, or mailed out. Many tradies here, such as gardeners, house cleaners etc use generic booklets with tear-out pages that they buy from the stationery store and a rubber stamp with their name, contact details and bank account number. That’s what the computer tech guy who came to our house a couple of days ago had. I could either pay him by credit card on the mobile device he carries, or log in to my bank’s app and transfer the money to his account. Obviously he prefers the latter because there are no bank fees, so that’s what I did.
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Post by KiwiJo on Jun 22, 2022 21:46:01 GMT
It still seems very strange to me, that a computer-savvy country like USA can’t find a way to make it easy to electronically transfer money between two bank accounts - but I can absolutely see that it would be difficult with lots of smaller banks.
We don’t have that here - our banks are all ‘major’ entities (and most of them are owned by Australian banks, but that’s another story!!) and they can all link into a shared system that allows them to work together easily.
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Post by greendragonlady on Jun 22, 2022 22:28:08 GMT
No. I haven't had checks in years. Once in a HUGE while we will run across a situation where we can't use a credit/debit card or pay online and I'll get a bank check or MO.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Jun 22, 2022 22:28:57 GMT
It still seems very strange to me, that a computer-savvy country like USA can’t find a way to make it easy to electronically transfer money between two bank accounts - but I can absolutely see that it would be difficult with lots of smaller banks. We don’t have that here - our banks are all ‘major’ entities (and most of them are owned by Australian banks, but that’s another story!!) and they can all link into a shared system that allows them to work together easily. Of course it's easy - it's been ubiquitous for decades - just because a segment of the peas don't know how to do it or that they don't do it doesn't mean there's some credit union out there that doesn't know what an ETF is or doesn't make it available. I will grant that too many government entities charge ridiculous fees as I'm another who writes a check every year for property taxes as they charge a percentage of the bill and it's a big damn bill. So I'll say there are stone age US agencies - not banks. I read these threads in as much confusion as the international peas - my 70+ year old mother doesn't write checks. I have a business dealing with under 30 year olds and guarantee you if I wanted checks from them I'd be SOL - none of them have checks and few have cash - it's all electronic transfer of one variety or another.
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Post by ExpatBackHome on Jun 22, 2022 22:34:05 GMT
The only time I use a check is to pay for Taekwondo lessons for my son. So once a month and then again when he has a belt test.
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snyder
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,294
Location: Colorado
Apr 26, 2017 6:14:47 GMT
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Post by snyder on Jun 22, 2022 22:34:29 GMT
I rarely use a check and my bank will give me very plain ones, I think its like 25 for free. I keep one in my wallet, just in case. Then there is my 91 year old mom. She used checks for everything until a few years ago, when we finally got her to grasp the use of a debit card. I also took over her banking and now pay her bills online. She does write checks to the lawn guy and the hair dresser that comes to her home. We don't like her to keep a wad of cash at home.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Jun 22, 2022 22:56:47 GMT
Exactly. When my DH goes to a client’s home to do some work, he hands them a bill and expects to be paid right then at the time of service. We don’t send out invoices. Most people pay with a check, some people pay with a credit card and a very few hand him a wad of cash. But the bill that he hands them is surely an invoice? It doesn’t have to be pre-printed, or mailed out. Many tradies here, such as gardeners, house cleaners etc use generic booklets with tear-out pages that they buy from the stationery store and a rubber stamp with their name, contact details and bank account number. That’s what the computer tech guy who came to our house a couple of days ago had. I could either pay him by credit card on the mobile device he carries, or log in to my bank’s app and transfer the money to his account. Obviously he prefers the latter because there are no bank fees, so that’s what I did. Bill, invoice, receipt, call it what you will. Basically it’s a generic two part form that he fills out with what he did, what it will cost to do each thing and the total due. They either write him a check, hand him their credit card which he processes on the spot with a chip reader that attaches to his phone, or they hand him cash. Then he gives them a copy for their records and brings the other copy home for me. I think one time someone asked him if he accepted Zelle payments and he’s so old school he just said, “What?” Then they gave him a check, LOL. I think if there was a way he could take electronic payments without any fees he would find a way to learn how to do it, but as others have noted there really isn’t any one universal way to do that here. Things like Venmo, Zelle, Apple Pay, Google Pay are all pretty new and the ones who offer a business option charge the business an amount similar to accepting a credit or debit card. Since that’s what we’ve got to work with it’s just easier for most people to do what they’re used to and either hand you a card or a check so that’s what they do. He has on occasion had people do a bank transfer but that just ends up being a check printed out and sent from their bank to us in the mail. It isn’t like EFT. Since it takes longer for him to get paid that way, he definitely doesn’t encourage it. If you are a business and don’t have a business Venmo or PayPal or whatever account and you take payments with a personal Venmo or PayPal account they can and do shut people down for that and freeze your money. Since not everyone is set up to pay for things that way (and both parties would have to use the same service), I think it will be a long time before it is a common thing here.
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AllieC
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,087
Jul 4, 2014 6:57:02 GMT
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Post by AllieC on Jun 22, 2022 23:23:53 GMT
What I don't understand about the "just use bill pay" idea - which I do understand (though not use) is that bill pay prints out a check and mails it, right? So the recipient gets a check in the mail, just not from me. So, I just send a check in the mail from me. I do pay several things online, though. What? Surely not gosh that's so archaic if that's what they do.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Jun 22, 2022 23:51:37 GMT
What I don't understand about the "just use bill pay" idea - which I do understand (though not use) is that bill pay prints out a check and mails it, right? So the recipient gets a check in the mail, just not from me. So, I just send a check in the mail from me. I do pay several things online, though. What? Surely not gosh that's so archaic if that's what they do. No not usually. I have about 20 companies on my bill pay list and only one is sent an actual check (local water company - back to my comment regarding agencies being archaic) - even the one woman landscaping company has managed to figure out how to get at etf from my regional bank - people who don't use the services, just don't realize that it's really not that complicated.
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Post by Just Beth on Jun 22, 2022 23:52:39 GMT
I was the one who mentioned that this board isn't a typical cross section of the US. I think the most recent study is that over half of US citizens never write checks - those over 65 being the demographic that is most likely still writing checks. I don't know anyone under 30 who even has checks. Oh and the whole - I won't tell someone my bank account info so I'll write a check is pretty hilarious as your full account number including routing number is on your check! This is true. I’m 47 and I only write one check a month for my cleaning lady, at her request. English is her second language and she’s in her 50s so learning a new way might be more difficult for her than some. I love tech and I’m an early adopter by nature so I’m fully comfortable with electronic payments. My kids are 26 and 24 and have never owned a checkbook. I think as generations turn over with time checks will retire as a way of payment in the US. Every person who posts about it not being safe to give out your account number but ignores that it is literally printed on every check is illogical.
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milocat
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,570
Location: 55 degrees north in Alberta, Canada
Mar 18, 2015 4:10:31 GMT
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Post by milocat on Jun 23, 2022 0:13:08 GMT
You guys really are behind in banking technology, after the credit card tap thread and all the ways credit/debit cards have evolved and how long it too the US to catch up each time. I think one issue in the US is the number of banks we have. There are close to 5,000 banks in the US, plus almost the same number of credit unions. Getting all those banks to get on to a new system is not easy. The top 4 (Chase, BofA, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup) have the resources to implement new technology, but smaller banks would struggle to keep up. Those top 4 have less than 50% of the US bank share. And merchants are slow to implement new payment terminals because of the cost. I am sure eventually we'll catch up to the rest of the world in terms of electronic transaction, but it will take time. I wouldn’t need to ask the gardener etc for their bank account number, it would just be on their invoice because that’s how they would expect to be paid. Invoice?? We've had about 4 different gardeners in the past 25 years. None of them gave us invoices. We just pay them at the end of the month. Lot of house cleaners operate the same way here. I always thought when US citizens said then all the banks would have to change or then every terminal would have to accept tap it wasn't a good excuse because every other country has changed all their banks/terminals/whatever. I just googled and Canada has 29 domestic banks with the big 5 controlling 85 percent, 24 foreign subsidiaries and 27 full service foreign banks. England has 300 banks. Australia 53. I knew about Canada's big 5, and like many things there are just a few company's that provide a menology to the whole country here. I had no idea the US had so many more banks. I mean, I think a huge part of the issue is that people here just don’t want updated banking technology. People threw absolute fits over the chip and pin rollout, so it kind of just got abandoned. I can still bypass the PIN everywhere, so it’s useless. I don’t have any desire to figure out or use EFTs. If I asked someone for their bank account number, they would look at me like I had six heads. We don’t really do that here. Here etransfers are super easy. I need your email address. I go into my online banking and enter it and an question with a password answer you will need. I enter then amount send. You get an email and choose your bank, log in, enter the answer to the security question, and choose the account to deposit it in. No account numbers are shared in Canada, just an email address and security question (which you can choose to not do but it's not as secure obviously).
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Post by mollycoddle on Jun 23, 2022 10:22:44 GMT
What? Surely not gosh that's so archaic if that's what they do. No not usually. I have about 20 companies on my bill pay list and only one is sent an actual check (local water company - back to my comment regarding agencies being archaic) - even the one woman landscaping company has managed to figure out how to get at etf from my regional bank - people who don't use the services, just don't realize that it's really not that complicated. I have an incredibly dumb question, but I’ll ask it anyway. Which ETF would you recommend? Zelle? Paypal? This dinosaur is trying to play catch-up. 😁 ETA: I am even not sure if I am using the right terminology. 🤷♀️
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Post by compeateropeator on Jun 23, 2022 10:28:54 GMT
Only if I’m forced. I also get completely annoyed by the older women who wait til the cashier has almost bagged everything and then decide to get their checkbook out. I honestly have never seen a man write a check at the grocery store. You obviously have not been behind my father. 😆. He is the grocery shopper in the family and definitely a check writer. He prefers to use them, especially for grocery shopping and bills.
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Post by gillyp on Jun 23, 2022 10:54:39 GMT
No not usually. I have about 20 companies on my bill pay list and only one is sent an actual check (local water company - back to my comment regarding agencies being archaic) - even the one woman landscaping company has managed to figure out how to get at etf from my regional bank - people who don't use the services, just don't realize that it's really not that complicated. I have an incredibly dumb question, but I’ll ask it anyway. Which ETF would you recommend? Zelle? Paypal? This dinosaur is trying to play catch-up. 😁 ETA: I am even not sure if I am using the right terminology. 🤷♀️ Chiming in here as I'm interested to see what folk on your side of the pond suggest. Here we have had internet banking for many years. You register online with your bank and can use a computer/lap top/tablet/app to run your account. All my usual payees are listed with their bank details. To pay someone I normally log into the bank's app (because it's much quicker than any other method) click on move money, click on who I want to pay, fill in the amount, go through a couple of security checks and that's it. The money is sent to the payee's account almost instantly and they can see it arriving or I can chose what day to send it and don't have to worry that I've missed paying them. It's very simple to set up a new payee too. I don't need a third party like Paypal etc. to pay someone. I can access the app via face recognition and it probably takes 30 seconds to pay someone. I'm in my late 60s and love how easy and fast it is.
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Post by gar on Jun 23, 2022 11:19:30 GMT
I have an incredibly dumb question, but I’ll ask it anyway. Which ETF would you recommend? Zelle? Paypal? This dinosaur is trying to play catch-up. 😁 ETA: I am even not sure if I am using the right terminology. 🤷♀️ Chiming in here as I'm interested to see what folk on your side of the pond suggest. Here we have had internet banking for many years. You register online with your bank and can use a computer/lap top/tablet/app to run your account. All my usual payees are listed with their bank details. To pay someone I normally log into the bank's app (because it's much quicker than any other method) click on move money, click on who I want to pay, fill in the amount, go through a couple of security checks and that's it. The money is sent to the payee's account almost instantly and they can see it arriving or I can chose what day to send it and don't have to worry that I've missed paying them. It's very simple to set up a new payee too. I don't need a third party like Paypal etc. to pay someone. I can access the app via face recognition and it probably takes 30 seconds to pay someone. I'm in my late 60s and love how easy and fast it is. Me too I can go to a client, tell them the cost and they pay me there and then electronically before I'm out of the door
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Post by mollycoddle on Jun 23, 2022 11:44:05 GMT
I have an incredibly dumb question, but I’ll ask it anyway. Which ETF would you recommend? Zelle? Paypal? This dinosaur is trying to play catch-up. 😁 ETA: I am even not sure if I am using the right terminology. 🤷♀️ Chiming in here as I'm interested to see what folk on your side of the pond suggest. Here we have had internet banking for many years. You register online with your bank and can use a computer/lap top/tablet/app to run your account. All my usual payees are listed with their bank details. To pay someone I normally log into the bank's app (because it's much quicker than any other method) click on move money, click on who I want to pay, fill in the amount, go through a couple of security checks and that's it. The money is sent to the payee's account almost instantly and they can see it arriving or I can chose what day to send it and don't have to worry that I've missed paying them. It's very simple to set up a new payee too. I don't need a third party like Paypal etc. to pay someone. I can access the app via face recognition and it probably takes 30 seconds to pay someone. I'm in my late 60s and love how easy and fast it is. I do pay bills that way. I should have been clearer. I realize that I was as clear as mud. 😁 I was thinking about ways to pay people like the guy who cleans my gutters twice a year, so he is not a regular payee. I could use Zelle, but then he would also need to use Zelle. It just seems simpler to write him a check. But is there a better way? Wait, I reread your post. So using your bank app, you can log on, put in a contractor’s email or phone, and pay them immediately? Without adding them to your account as a regular payee?
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Post by AussieMeg on Jun 23, 2022 11:45:16 GMT
I was in the city on Tuesday, and I bought a copy of The Big Issue magazine from a vendor. UK Peas will be familiar with The Big Issue, I'm pretty sure it started over there. For those who don't know, The Big Issue is a not-for-profit organisation that supports and creates work opportunities for homeless, marginalised, and disadvantaged people. My usual vendor, prior to COVID was a lovely blind guy who sold the magazine near the train station. Anyway, short story long, even the homeless guy who sold me a copy of the magazine was able to accept payment from me via Apple Pay from my iPhone! He had a Square Reader which is a device to accept contactless payments from Apple Pay and Google Pay.
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Post by gillyp on Jun 23, 2022 11:50:04 GMT
I was in the city on Tuesday, and I bought a copy of The Big Issue magazine from a vendor. UK Peas will be familiar with The Big Issue, I'm pretty sure it started over there. For those who don't know, The Big Issue is a not-for-profit organisation that supports and creates work opportunities for homeless, marginalised, and disadvantaged people. My usual vendor, prior to COVID was a lovely blind guy who sold the magazine near the train station. Anyway, short story long, even the homeless guy who sold me a copy of the magazine was able to accept payment from me via Apple Pay from my iPhone! He had a Square Reader which is a device to accept contactless payments from Apple Pay and Google Pay. Prince William was selling it the other day and I believe the other vendor he was with just whipped a card reader out to take a payment that way! mollycoddle I have people in my payees that I only pay maybe annually. If I have someone doing work in the house that I’ve not used before, I just ask for their bank details and add them to the list.
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Post by AussieMeg on Jun 23, 2022 11:56:17 GMT
I was thinking about ways to pay people like the guy who cleans my gutters twice a year, so he is not a regular payee. I could use Zelle, but then he would also need to use Zelle. It just seems simpler to write him a check. But is there a better way? I have no idea what Zelle is. I pay my dog groomer by EFT (OSKO). I log into my bank account using the app on my phone, select 'Pay Anyone' then select him from my Payees. He gets the money into his account within seconds. I had to pay one of my son's friends the other day for my son's phone repair, and he wasn't set up as a payee on my account. I was able to use PayID on my phone. I just selected the mobile option (you can also use Email or ABN), entered the guy's mobile (cell phone) number, put in the dollar amount, and hit PAY. So easy! The money was transferred to him instantly.
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Post by AussieMeg on Jun 23, 2022 11:59:01 GMT
Prince William was selling it the other day and I believe the other vendor he was with just whipped a card reader out to take a payment that way! I saw that on the TV the other night!
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Post by mollycoddle on Jun 23, 2022 12:00:07 GMT
I was thinking about ways to pay people like the guy who cleans my gutters twice a year, so he is not a regular payee. I could use Zelle, but then he would also need to use Zelle. It just seems simpler to write him a check. But is there a better way? I have no idea what Zelle is. I pay my dog groomer by EFT (OSKO). I log into my bank account using the app on my phone, select 'Pay Anyone' then select him from my Payees. He gets the money into his account within seconds. I had to pay one of my son's friends the other day for my son's phone repair, and he wasn't set up as a payee on my account. I was able to use PayID on my phone. I just selected the mobile option (you can also use Email or ABN), entered the guy's mobile (cell phone) number, put in the dollar amount, and hit PAY. So easy! The money was transferred to him instantly. I think this is where I’m getting confused. I need to find out if my bank app allows me to use someone’s email or phone to pay them. The fog is starting to lift! 😁😁
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Post by Darcy Collins on Jun 23, 2022 12:50:24 GMT
I have no idea what Zelle is. I pay my dog groomer by EFT (OSKO). I log into my bank account using the app on my phone, select 'Pay Anyone' then select him from my Payees. He gets the money into his account within seconds. I had to pay one of my son's friends the other day for my son's phone repair, and he wasn't set up as a payee on my account. I was able to use PayID on my phone. I just selected the mobile option (you can also use Email or ABN), entered the guy's mobile (cell phone) number, put in the dollar amount, and hit PAY. So easy! The money was transferred to him instantly. I think this is where I’m getting confused. I need to find out if my bank app allows me to use someone’s email or phone to pay them. The fog is starting to lift! 😁😁 I use Venmo for most of the random ones / it’s also how I send bday and graduation money. I have no doubt your sons friend has Venmo Oops realize it was AussieMeg with the son - it may but he ubiquitous there - but here it’s how anyone under 50 pays their friends so everyone has it. My carpet guy also prefers it although he does have a square cc reader but the fees are lower.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 7, 2024 1:26:39 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2022 13:13:06 GMT
I have an incredibly dumb question, but I’ll ask it anyway. Which ETF would you recommend? Zelle? Paypal? This dinosaur is trying to play catch-up. 😁 ETA: I am even not sure if I am using the right terminology. 🤷♀️ Chiming in here as I'm interested to see what folk on your side of the pond suggest. Here we have had internet banking for many years. You register online with your bank and can use a computer/lap top/tablet/app to run your account. All my usual payees are listed with their bank details. To pay someone I normally log into the bank's app (because it's much quicker than any other method) click on move money, click on who I want to pay, fill in the amount, go through a couple of security checks and that's it. The money is sent to the payee's account almost instantly and they can see it arriving or I can chose what day to send it and don't have to worry that I've missed paying them. It's very simple to set up a new payee too. I don't need a third party like Paypal etc. to pay someone. I can access the app via face recognition and it probably takes 30 seconds to pay someone. I'm in my late 60s and love how easy and fast it is. Me too and my mum is 76 and has been using on line banking for years, probably from when it originally started.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 7, 2024 1:26:39 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2022 13:53:06 GMT
I was thinking about ways to pay people like the guy who cleans my gutters twice a year, so he is not a regular payee. I could use Zelle, but then he would also need to use Zelle. It just seems simpler to write him a check. But is there a better way? I had to pay one of my son's friends the other day for my son's phone repair, and he wasn't set up as a payee on my account. I was able to use PayID on my phone. I just selected the mobile option (you can also use Email or ABN), entered the guy's mobile (cell phone) number, put in the dollar amount, and hit PAY. So easy! The money was transferred to him instantly. I think PayID is exclusive to Australia but we have Paym here in the UK which works in a similar way.
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Post by mom on Jun 23, 2022 13:59:25 GMT
I have no idea what Zelle is. I pay my dog groomer by EFT (OSKO). I log into my bank account using the app on my phone, select 'Pay Anyone' then select him from my Payees. He gets the money into his account within seconds. I had to pay one of my son's friends the other day for my son's phone repair, and he wasn't set up as a payee on my account. I was able to use PayID on my phone. I just selected the mobile option (you can also use Email or ABN), entered the guy's mobile (cell phone) number, put in the dollar amount, and hit PAY. So easy! The money was transferred to him instantly. I think this is where I’m getting confused. I need to find out if my bank app allows me to use someone’s email or phone to pay them. The fog is starting to lift! 😁😁 Zelle is attached at all my banking accounts by my bank. But you can download the app and send it from there if your bank doesn't automatically do this.
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Post by CardBoxer on Jun 23, 2022 14:14:56 GMT
I think this is where I’m getting confused. I need to find out if my bank app allows me to use someone’s email or phone to pay them. The fog is starting to lift! 😁😁 I use Venmo for most of the random ones / it’s also how I send bday and graduation money. I have no doubt your sons friend has Venmo Oops realize it was AussieMeg with the son - it may but he ubiquitous there - but here it’s how anyone under 50 pays their friends so everyone has it. My carpet guy also prefers it although he does have a square cc reader but the fees are lower. There’s an under 50 requirement to use Venmo? I’ve used it for ages, or paypal or other EFT if someone requests it. I’m well past 50. And 60.
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Post by melanell on Jun 23, 2022 14:16:32 GMT
Yes, but once my children are grown, I don't know if I still will, as almost every check I write is for something school or activity/sport related. Although the number I write for sport/activities in getting lower with each passing year as more businesses/organizations are offering other ways to pay. The school, though, they love their checks. My sewer bill is also paid by check right now. But if I wanted, I could walk down and pay by other means. Because my only other options are pay in cash in person or pay online but pay a fee and I'm rather testy about paying a fee to pay a bill. So since I still have checks anyway, I send the check. (The fee would be more than the stamp. )
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