I just finished reading an article on Wise Bread about writing cheques (or checks if you’re living further South). Despite my inclination to do things with as much unnecessary tech as possible, I still write quite a lot of cheques throughout the month.
I suppose one reason could be that, as a bookkeeper, I write so many cheques for businesses’, that this habit just trickles down to my personal behaviours. I do, however, find it interesting how differently cheques are viewed in retail and business environments.
How many of you would feel really uncomfortable pulling out a chequebook at 7-11 to pay for your Slurpees? Yet, I get the same awkward reaction from some vendors when I ask to pay them with anything other than a cheque. Have you tried to pay Enmax by PayPal lately? Maybe you’ve tried to find the “pay monthly by Visa” checkbox on your city utility bill. Maybe it’s different where you live, but here, if it’s not automatically coming out of your bank account, you have to pay by cheque.
If you really think about it, it’s interesting that the clerk at 7-11 is really worried your cheque for $1.92 is going to bounce, but I can take $4,000 worth of guitars or furnaces from a vendor without anyone breaking a sweat.
What are your thoughts on cheques? Should they be permanently retired as a form of payment, or are they still a vital part of your financial life?