| I write a dozen checks or so a month. US banks typically do not charge someone to receive a paper check, and the only cost of writing a paper check is acquiring the piece of paper, which doesn’t need to be bought from the bank and is relatively inexpensive. Furthermore, all electronic payment systems in the US are either operated by for-profit companies (VISA, Venmo), or are not available to consumers for one off transactions (ACH). The result is that for many circumstances, paper checks are the cheapest way to move money around, even after accounting for their credit and fraud risks. I write paper checks for: • municipal utilities that either don’t accept electronic payment, or have a surcharge for electronic payment that exceeds my costs for writing checks. • services provided by individuals or sometimes small businesses. While these sorts of people accept Venmo and their competitors more often than they used to, many of them still prefer a check. • quarterly state and federal tax payments. While these guys accept EFT, the websites are terrible so it’s usually a better use of my time to mail a check. • anybody who will give me a greater than 1.5% discount for paying by check rather than credit card. Contractors and small medical offices fall into this category most often. But sometimes also local shops for large ticket purchases. |