Does anyone use checks anymore

Unfortunately, I almost never get to show them off. But given how awesome mine are, should I be using checks more often? First I decided to consult Sarah Grotta, the director of debit and alternative products advisory service at Mercator Advisory Group.

I needed to know about the state of checks: who uses them, why and what for. In fact, the Federal Reserve put out a report in December saying there were Such a modern approach.

Jenny Johnson, director at The Clearing House , said another benefit of checks is that people can send information with them. You might need to write a check occasionally, and doing so has its pros and cons.

Read up on how to choose a checking or savings account. Personal checks can be useful because some transactions still require checks. If you prefer to stay disciplined with your spending, checks or cash can also be a better choice than plastic. Send money electronically, using services such as Venmo and Zelle.

Want to read more about these options and others? Read our roundup of the best ways to send money. Use a debit, credit or prepaid card. You avoid convenience fees. Some businesses, including some property managers, charge convenience fees for electronic payments. Over the years, my life has gotten increasingly digital, without me even realizing it. Take for instance, payments. Typically, I pull out a debit or credit card to pay for store purchases.

Online bill pay works for the monthly bills. And for splitting dinner bills, classroom payments, sports fees and babysitters, P2P does just fine. Recently though, one of my weekly service providers requested that I write them a check. Given that this person was under the age of 25, I was a bit taken aback.

A check? At her age? Or was she? It made me wonder. Just how common are checks? As it turns out, while checks have declined over the years - in , the Federal Reserve Payments Study showed check payments declining from the high 30 billion range down to Digital Balancing Options The old-school method of checkbook balancing assumed that you would carry a paper check register with you everywhere you went, and that you would record your transactions by hand.

Using an Account Aggregator There are a number of programs available that will automatically track your banking information for you, such as Mint. Was this article helpful? Share your feedback. Send feedback to the editorial team. Rate this Article. Thank You for your feedback! Something went wrong. Please try again later. Best Of Banking. Banking Reviews. Banking More from. Napoletano Contributor. By Ben Gran Contributor. Information provided on Forbes Advisor is for educational purposes only.

Your financial situation is unique and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances. We do not offer financial advice, advisory or brokerage services, nor do we recommend or advise individuals or to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. Performance information may have changed since the time of publication. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Forbes Advisor adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. To the best of our knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available.