I have to say I’m one of those people who still send in payments in check form via the good old USPS. I figure the fewer people who have my credit card or debit card number the better. Why not send in a paper check and use it as a receipt in with your monthly bills?
A week or so ago I ran an errand at a neighborhood hardware store in a strip mall. An elderly woman with erratic grey hair was taken off guard when the young man, still sporting a black mask, asked her to wait while he called over the manager to approve her check. Besides telling him he can’t be understood when his mouth was covered. she gave him an earful about the approval process- you see she had been using checks at the store for decades.
The manager listened patiently while she tiraded about taking her business else, then watched her take her two items and use a cane to leave the store. But didn’t she just save them 3 percent of her purchase by writing out the check with her name and address typed neatly in the top left hand corner?
I was given the choice of paying a reduced rate by my window washers if I paid with cash or check. The savings came to $7.50. In a way it’s surprising more companies don’t offer the discount. On the other hand, the small time vendors, like estate sales folks, add the extra 3% if a buyer chooses to pay by card instead of check. This holds true for property tax payments at the county as well. If you pay with a card, plan to add on the surcharge.
I use the paper drafts out of habit and reluctance to give up the paper. But it seems as soon as you think a paper mode will vanish (think bookstores) there’s a return to the good old days.
Home Economics 