Dear Bernard,

Do you write paper checks?

While many of us have checking accounts, the way we pay for things has changed drastically over the years.

Checks have been around a long time — centuries, in fact. Paper checks are simply directions telling banks how much money to move from one account to another.

Checks were a huge part of the U.S. economy only a few decades ago. The Federal Reserve, the U.S.’s central bank, processed 17 billion checks a year back in 2000, compared with 3 billion today.

Today, fewer companies accept checks as a form of payment. In fact, Target Stores was the latest company to stop accepting checks.

While it can cost as much as $1 or more to process a check, some experts feel there are more reasons than the cost of the transaction for discontinuing use. Today, these directions take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to be carried out. That’s why stores prefer that customers pay with debit cards, which act like checks but remove money from an account immediately.

Another reason is fraud. According to Fastcompany.com, the number of check fraud cases has exploded since 2020, nearly doubling from 2021 to 2022. One of the biggest places where this fraud occurs are checks written at the cash register. As the Atlanta Fed points out, “Anyone with graphics software and a high-quality printer can readily turn out counterfeit checks.”

The increase in check fraud means Target’s recent announcement will likely be repeated soon by other chains. Fastcompany points out that they expect in the future that only stores like Costco, which photograph every member and has every customer’s address on file, will allow checks.

As the payment world evolves, I have noticed this change even at a local restaurant I visited this week. When the waitress brought the check I had the option to scan a QR code and pay direct with my credit card or debit card instead of handing it over to be processed. To me, this was another level of safety such as having the card processed with a portable device at my table.

Since companies pass on many of their increased costs to the consumer, reducing fraud should have a positive impact. While the offset cost may be small, with inflation causing prices to increase, little items that reduce cost can only be a benefit.

If you prefer not to use a debit or credit card, remember that cash is still king. However, it was just pointed out to me that LMCU Ballpark here in Grand Rapids no longer accepts cash for any transaction.





As always, thanks for reading.

Bernie & Chad