Do People Still Use Paper Checks? - Money Tip Tuesday

For many people today, it seems checks are becoming more and more a thing of the past. In fact, there are many people who don’t know how to write one. 

With the changing tools in banking and newer tech like digital payment and transfer capabilities, is there any real need for checks anymore?  

Links:

• Contact us with any questions about getting started with Remote Deposit Capture
• Watch our Remote Deposit Capture tutorial on YouTube
• Read the article about recent check usage stats
• Check out TCU University for more financial education tips and resources!
• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!
• Learn more about Triangle Credit Union

Transcript:

Welcome to Money Tip Tuesday from the Making Money Personal Podcast. 

Contrary to popular belief, check use is not dead. Believe it or not, people are still writing and issuing checks.  

According to data from the Federal Reserve Board, roughly 11.2 billion checks were used in 2021. 

This stat might leave you wondering who even uses checks and why?  

Most of us use digital payment services that process payments for anything from groceries to paying back a friend for last night’s dinner. 

Services like Cash app, Venmo, PayPal and others are great for their convenience and swift transfer capabilities. You don’t have to wait long for the money to show up in your account so there’s no mystery why these apps are rapidly making check usage a thing of the past. 

But, even with the growing usage of those popular payment tools, checks are still being used.  

In fact, studies have shown that when people do use checks they’re using them mainly for larger purchases, particularly for rent payments, sometimes utilities or things like a car downpayment.  

The good thing is that even though checks aren’t as popular as they used to be banking tech has continued to update the process of how we interact with and deposit checks to keep up with the times. 

Originally checks would be written out to the receiver, physically brought to a teller at the bank and deposited in-person. But now, with tools like remote check deposit, you don’t even have to get off the couch to deposit your check, if you ever do receive one. 

This will save your not only time by avoiding a trip to the bank but also money by saving yourself on gas or other transport costs. 

Remote Deposit doesn’t cost anything at all. All you need is a mobile phone or computer, Internet connection and an online/mobile banking account. 

To access it, log into the account and select Remote Deposit.  

Follow the prompts to sign your check, take pics, or if you’re using a home computer, scan the check,  then upload it all within a few seconds. 

If you’d like to see an example of how it’s done, watch our tutorial video on YouTube for a step-by-step demonstration. The link will be in the show notes.  

In summary, checks haven’t disappeared entirely just yet and even though you all in on digital payment tools, you may still wind up receiving a paper check. If do, skip the trip to the bank and deposit it from home, or on the go with remote check deposit.  

If there are any other tips or topics, you’d like us to cover, let us know at tcupodcast@trianglecu.org.  Like and follow our Making Money Personal FB and IG page and look for our sponsor, Triangle Credit Union on social media to share your thoughts.  

Thanks for listening to today’s Money Tip Tuesday and make sure to check out our other tips and episodes on the Making Money Personal podcast.  

Have a great day!