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Well, well!! Yes, I know they can. I wasn't speaking of the type of debit card that you buy, I have no experience with that. It's just that I thought most checking accounts came with a debit card and it seems like a hassle to have to write out a check. And yes, I have definitely seen people writing out their checks then the clerk slides it through a machine. Of course you need a checking account I wasn't suggesting otherwise.
Just wondering is all because it seems like extra work for the buyer. And of course, I'm being a bit nosy. But that's why I'm asking anonymously on the boards and not hasseling perfect strangers about their financial business .
It is a good question and an easy question to answer. When you write a check, no one can be out in the parking lot with an electronic device taking down your pen so they can steal everything in your checking account. My husband installed those debit machines when they first came out and he told me not to use them. I use them anyway. And I am old.
I think they have been improved since they first came out. He even uses them now. But you really need to hide your finger when you are putting in your pin. There are just too many crooks out there so we all have to be careful.
He likes me to write a check because we have duplicate checks and he uses that to keep up with our checking account. I have been know to lose receipts.
I'm really curious about these things. I'd give up checks tomorrow if I could get a real-time report from my bank of my account balance. If I were only using a debit and an ATM card, that should be feasible...but I expect pigs to fly first. Banks make too much money from overdraft fees to help me not overdraw my account. So until they do provide such a service, it's my responsibility to know the true balance.
I do fill in the check before the checker starts scanning.
My credit union has a banking app I check before I make purchases, real time data...get with the times...
I always paid cash at the grocery store and for everything but monthly bills and had contempt for people who used checks to buy things. I always had a few hundred bucks walking around money in my clip. Then I got married again, now it's debit cards, credit cards, packages from Amazon and me walking around with a fin in my pocket like some putz.
Here's some questions for those of you who enjoy the speed and convenience of your debit card--
Do you know, without having to go online, what the balance is in your checking account (or whatever account is the source of your debit card funds), today?
Have you overdrawn that account? Do you think not knowing how much money is in that account contributed to the overdraft?
If you have overdrawn the account, what were the consequences? If the bank charged an overdraft fee, do you know how much?
Do you keep additional money in that account to avoid the consequences of overdrawing your account?
I'm really curious about these things. I'd give up checks tomorrow if I could get a real-time report from my bank of my account balance. If I were only using a debit and an ATM card, that should be feasible...but I expect pigs to fly first. Banks make too much money from overdraft fees to help me not overdraw my account. So until they do provide such a service, it's my responsibility to know the true balance.
I do fill in the check before the checker starts scanning.
I've never had an overdraft, they are easy to avoid. I check my balance online on a regular basis, and always know how much money I have in my account, if I'm going shopping I will double check to make sure everything is in order, it only takes a few seconds, and I know exactly how much I can spend. Some people bounce checks too, it's not like they are foolproof in that regard.
It is a good question and an easy question to answer. When you write a check, no one can be out in the parking lot with an electronic device taking down your pen so they can steal everything in your checking account.
Your check has your account number and routing number on it, (and probably your name, signature, address, and phone number). With that info, a criminal could easily clean out your account.
I have an account that when I set it up I didn't intend to use it as a day-to-day account (long story). Every now and then I pay for my trips to Costco from it and I have to write a check because I purposely did not get a debit card when I opened it.
I'm not exactly "elderly", but I prefer checks.....and now that most retailers do an automatic debit based on your check...it's faster for everyone. Checks nowadays ARE debited almost immediately.
A check is the same as a debit card...comes out of YOUR money in YOUR account!
Check writing is still very common and preferred by many. I don't understand why the OP is treating it as if it's obsolete.
Actually, I have not found it to be that common. I'd say as far as grocery shopping about 10%-20% of the time. And of that percentage about 75% of check writers look to be over age 50. So while not obsolete, I'd say not the norm.
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An absurd inquiry
