Why just restaurants? This should be expanded to support barber shops, nail salons and massage business. I’m sure I’m forgetting a few other business that could benefit.
Sincere question - how widespread is actual check usage in the US nowadays? As in, would "mail her a check" be a colloquialism for an Apple Pay transfer or similar, or would it mean just what it says - write out a check, mail it, wait for her to cash it?
(Question comes from Norway, a small country with only a handful of banks which very early collaborated to get electronic payment options available - to the extent that debet card terminals are everywhere, even kids have cards - and I think the last time I saw a check was in 1992 or so, at which point my reaction was "wow, do these still exist?")
Checks are still an everyday thing in the USA and Canada for rent, grocery stores and more-expensive services.
Checks are generally not used for small amounts, and where the Not Sufficient Fee (NSF) fees would be a problem. So usually not for restaurants, barbers, etc.
Banks until recently issued free "basic design" checks, but it looks like my national-level bank stopped doing that last year.
The advantages of checks over eletronic payments is that you don't need an always online network, and you can mail or give checks in advance of the payment date.
Barbershops etc. are a class of business that gift cards aren't the best fit for because they have finite, nonscalable capacity.
You buy a gift card for a timeslot, which helps the barbershop's cashflow now, but when you redeem it later, you're clobbering it's future income.
A barber can work overtime and open up more slots, but he might never catch up. Unless you have really short expiry dates or low redemption rates. In which case the gift cards become more like a donation, which under the current circumstances wouldn't be a bad thing.
> You buy a gift card for a timeslot, which helps the barbershop's cashflow now, but when you redeem it later, you're clobbering it's future income.
This is most business though. You have unearned revenue which helps because you have accounts receivable and you're waiting on cash. It bridges the gap.
I agree partially on barber shops though because few have AR. Still, they get revenue upfront which can cover hard costs during this time.
I could mail her a check I suppose.
ACH transfer? (I assume I would have to ask her for her bank account info which might be a little awkward.)
Venmo? (I've tried to avoid it thus far.)