[rags2riches]

Cheques are an anachronism. I think I remember seeing my mother write a cheque some thirty years ago. I have never written or received one myself. I doubt I know anyone under fifty who has. Unless they've lived in the US, of course.

[pjerem]

Cheques are still pretty common in France, especially to transfer money from person to person for occasional transactions.

I really rarely use them but they are honestly pretty useful as a fallback to pay someone you trust (family, friend). It takes seconds to write, your grandmother knows how it works, it doesn’t require smartphone/a computer/a complex banking application, It doesn’t require communicating your bazillion characters long banking information, everyone accepts it for little sums, it works offline, it doesn’t require holding large amount of value, it’s easy to cancel if needed.

Yes it’s the least practical payment method and yes anything is better. But it always works where the rest doesn’t.

[nbernard]

Depends a lot on the country. In France for instance, cheques are still very common, albeit less than before COVID.

[gsej]

In the UK some people still use them. My elderly parents still occasionally send them to us. We don't take them to a bank or ATM though - bank apps will accept a photo of one and make the transfer instantly.

[ryandrake]

I'm in the USA, and I will use a check only if it is the only realistic option, and those cases are surprisingly common. I've probably written about 100 paper checks in the last 5 years or so. Looking through my records, here are some examples of places I do business with that do not accept credit cards, or charge a fee to use a credit card:

Mortgage company

DMV

County tax collector

Roofing company

Pest control company

Child daycare

Air conditioning company

School PTA

Landscaping company

Kid's gymnastics lessons

Pet rescue organization

Dues for a hobby organization