No Personal Checks

[Daekar]

I hate checks (cheques) and always have. I write them a few times a year to pay small businesses or contractors, but usually use a credit card. Stopped using debit cards because it's too risky.

I would love to see crypto take off in a big way, but I don't believe the powers that be will allow that to happen in the way it should.

[MrWolf]

I figure since there is no way the powers that be will allow for less tracking ability and going back to a "cash" payment society, you are better off with the credit cards that give you cash back. I know folks will say the cash back causes an increase in prices, but let's be honest in that cash is on its way out. I pay my credit cards in full every month and the cash back has been a decent amount. Just wait till the IRS decides those payments should be taxable and reported.

[bedbugbilly]

Sorry, but I'm "old school" and I don't blame you for walking out. Our family had a business for close to a hundred, I had businesses for 50 years of my own - and we never turned a check paying customer away.

The doing away with checks, all these electronic transfers, etc. are being pushed on people. Banks used to provide services - now they have become "faceless" entities that employ people with no "people skills" - the same as most clerks in the bigger stores.

"Get a debit card"? I don't want a debit card. I have a credit card but am very hesitant to use it as it has been hacked a number of times - a few by clerks who would not accept checks. How is a debit card any more secure than a credit card? No matter how secure it is claimed, there will be some be some lowlife who is too lazy to actually work that will find a way to hack it.

Secure credit and debit cards? A year ago, my wife and I were at the Home Depot up in Tucson to pick up some plumbing supplies. IIRC, the total was around $190. I told the clerk that I would be using my Master Card. As the transaction went through, I waited for her to ask to see my ID to verify that I was indeed the cardholder. She didn't ask so I asked her if she wanted to see my ID to verify it. Her reply? "No - we are no longer allowed to ask to see ID. Well, doesn't that give you a warm fuzzy feeling to know that if your card does get stolen, the lowlife can go on a spree and never get asked to prove it is his or her card.

Yea . . . . checks are going to get phased out eventually . . . but a big contributing factor to it is that there are far too many people who see no problem in writing a check with no funds to cover the check - a good majority of them are those who have never been taught to be responsible, never been taught to not live beyond their means and who can't even do the simple math to balance a check book - but I guess we shouldn't be surprised . . . we have a government in Washington that does the same thing. And at the local level . . . there are many places where the Prosecuting Attorney's office will not go after the individuals who make a habit of writing bad checks.

[JoeJames]

I either use checks, or my "rat hole account (proceeds from gun sales, etc. in my wallet, what can I say, I'm a hillbilly!)". Cash still works pretty dern good. Course the young'uns have a hard time counting down - ie., something is say $15.07 and you give them $20.10 - then you get the deer in a head light look.

[shooterg]

Not taking checks bad enough - some places like UPS won't take cash ! "Course the government would like to do away with cash too, so they would be able to track all wealth to the penny .

[MT Gianni]

[QUOTE=bedbugbilly;5273645]
"Get a debit card"? I don't want a debit card. I

Secure credit and debit cards? A year ago, my wife and I were at the Home Depot up in Tucson to pick up some plumbing supplies. IIRC, the total was around $190. I told the clerk that I would be using my Master Card. As the transaction went through, I waited for her to ask to see my ID to verify that I was indeed the cardholder. She didn't ask so I asked her if she wanted to see my ID to verify it. Her reply? "No - we are no longer allowed to ask to see ID. Well, doesn't that give you a warm fuzzy feeling to know that if your card does get stolen, the lowlife can go on a spree and never get asked to prove it is his or her card.
/QUOTE]

Debit cards if hacked do not carry the protection of a contested charge unless they are MC or Visa. Credit charges can be contested. The questions asked first was if you verified the name and photo ID, of the person. If those were not verified the charges are often dropped so the retailer doesn't get paid. I am sure those charges are passed on to all of us.

It isn't that cc vs debit are less likely to be hacked, just that there is more protection for the consumer if they are

[MT Gianni]

Not taking checks bad enough - some places like UPS won't take cash ! "Course the government would like to do away with cash too, so they would be able to track all wealth to the penny .

As was evident with shipping handguns, UPS believes most of their employees would steal from them. In several localities, they may be right.

[JoeJames]

Just a question for those who just debit cards and no cash; do you ever try to buy something at a local gun show? What do you do, tell them to hang on while you go to an ATM?

[Bmi48219]

Does anyone still stand in line and count coins paying the exact change ?

I Usually know how much change I have in my pocket. If I intend to pay cash I can get add up the prices and know what the sales tax will be, so yeah. I have the change ready by the time cashier tell me the bill. Some are still baffled.

A year ago, my wife and I were at the Home Depot up in Tucson to pick up some plumbing supplies.

Ever since Home Depo got hacked a couple times, I will only use cash or Amex when dealing with them. Amex is about the only card I use, pay it off every month. On the two occasions someone tried to defraud me, Amex caught it and rejected the charge within a minute of the attempt, then overnighted a new card.

[Duckiller]

Is it legal to not take cash for a purchase at a store in the US? I thought cash was the ultimate coin of the realm. For all debts public and private.

[MrHarmless]

Just a question for those who just debit cards and no cash; do you ever try to buy something at a local gun show? What do you do, tell them to hang on while you go to an ATM?

There are a number of electronic means by which to exchange money nowadays, Zelle et al. I don't generally use them myself, but in person exchanges via those means are definitely viable, since you can verify the gun you're buying is in the condition promised prior to sending the money. Most banks support at least one of them.

[megasupermagnum]

I've never wrote a bank check in my life, and I never could see a good reason to. They are slow, unreliable, and prone to theft. About the only real advantage they offer is they payment can be canceled at any time, assuming it wasn't already cashed. There's no protection at all for the seller, and I can't blame anyone who doesn't want to deal with the headache of depositing or cashing all those checks, then dealing with the ones that bounce. Checks are traceable as much, and likely more so than any credit card. If you cash a good sized check, I think it is only $2,000, the IRS knows about it. I doubt they know about anything you do with a credit card besides what is on your 1040.

I pay most big purchases in cash. Every car I ever bought, boat, etc. All cash. 90% of guns I ever bought were with cash. I've always payed rent in cash. Utilities of any kind are all online now. Anything small like gas, food, parts, etc. I use a debit or credit card. You end up with way too many $1's if you buy everything small in cash. I have bought a couple of items and guns with USPS money order checks, and NEVER AGAIN. They suck unless you enjoy loosing your money for months at a time. If I can't pay cash, the only other thing I'll use for guns is a credit card. The 3% fee is 100% worth not having to do a nailbiter waiting for your bank check, or money order to be stolen.

Long story short, almost all car parts I buy are with a debit or credit card. There's no reason not to. If you get a credit card with no annual fee, and don't be an idiot, you actually make money off of them, as well as build credit history.

[Lloyd Smale]

Just a question for those who just debit cards and no cash; do you ever try to buy something at a local gun show? What do you do, tell them to hang on while you go to an ATM?

I know what i can afford so i take that much out of the bank the day of the show. If i find something i buy it if not i just put it back in on monday.

[zarrinvz24]

Needing to do a bit of work on the wifeys car I stopped by my closest Ogreen chain parts store to gather the needed supplies. Everything was on hand and when I asked for the total to write out my check the lip ringed (different rant) clerk told me they no longer take personal checks and I would have to use a credit card or cash. I asked when this went into effect and she didn’t know. I asked for the manager and she replied that she was the shift manager. I promptly turned on my heel and walked out of the store before going off on her.

Not sure if this was a one off but we are ever cautious of where or when we use a credit card, and I normally don’t carry much cash on hand either, it just seems to melt out of my pocket.

Even at the height of the ‘rona scare most everyone around here at least still took checks.

Is this becoming more common in a push to go to a system where all your purchases can be tracked fo targeted marketing and knowing where you spend your money?

The old faithful red&yellow checkered flag parts store was as always more than willing to take my cash substitute.

Change can be difficult, but there are more protections with a visa debit card than a check allows for. Some years ago, a magazine salesman appeared at our door and proceeded to sell my wife a subscription. Apparently the subscription she purchased was not available, and the salesman must've altered the check's notes section from Cosmopolitan magazine to Bowhunting. I detected this change once the cleared check arrived. I immediately reported it to the bank, however it was a long and arduous process to get that money back. 6-8 months, and required reporting to the FBI. If this purchase had been made under a Visa debit card, the money would have been refunded within hours.

[Geezer in NH]

We used 5 checks last year, all for purchases over our desired debit limit. One was our property tax.

DW is on a wipe account for her debit card as she abuses the spending on a card badly. Only her weekly limit is on the card.

I use a CC for online purchases and pay the card of monthly from my bank account using online payments offered by my local bank same as the rest of our bills.

For guns or ammo only cash. The old saying in some places was no checks, no twenties. New is no checks, no hundreds. Besides I have not bought any firearms or ammo in 20 years.

[snowwolfe]

I will only pay cash if offered a discount for using it. Otherwise my CC is used to earn rebates (cash) for me.
Debit cards are a waste as they offer none of the advantages of using the CC. The only time I write a check anymore is to send a birthday gift thru the mail.

[megasupermagnum]

I will only pay cash if offered a discount for using it. Otherwise my CC is used to earn rebates (cash) for me.
Debit cards are a waste as they offer none of the advantages of using the CC. The only time I write a check anymore is to send a birthday gift thru the mail.

There's good reasons to use debit cards. The big one is that there is very small fees for them. If I'm in a small shop, say a bait shop, I'm using a debit card. Those little shops don't need more fees.

[JoeJames]

Lloyd's solution of taking out enough cash out of the bank is pretty good. In a gun show I have found that several Arkansas credit cards ($100 bills) fanned out often nails a deal pretty fast and pretty solid. A buyer loses the Seller's attention fast if he makes an offer and then says I need to go by the ATM first and get some money. Most non-dealer vendors do not have credit card machines on hand. At least not around here.

[snowwolfe]

There's good reasons to use debit cards. The big one is that there is very small fees for them. If I'm in a small shop, say a bait shop, I'm using a debit card. Those little shops don't need more fees.

If your concerned about the fees a small business owner pays then give them cash.

[downzero]

There's good reasons to use debit cards. The big one is that there is very small fees for them. If I'm in a small shop, say a bait shop, I'm using a debit card. Those little shops don't need more fees.

Debit cards do not have fees when run as debit with a PIN, they are the same as making a cash withdrawal.

Debit cards when run as credit are the same as a credit card, only they provide the buyer with zero protection.

In a sane world, nobody outside of the unbanked would be using anything other than a credit card for purchases. Anything else is throwing money away.