Checks and wire transfers
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Holla, I just read "Going Postal" a few pages back, and that reminded me of the question I have always wanted to ask: What makes the check so popular in the financial world "over there" as opposed to the omnipresent wire- transfer "over here"? What's the rationale behind this fundamental difference? I noticed that there are many problems with the USPS. Why is the check still so popular, even if it is an item that must be sent by mail, as opposed to the "un-stealable" wire transfer. I am looking forward to your answers.
Cheers, Sebastian -- "If it was two men, the non-driver would have challenged the driver to simply crash through the gates. The macho image thing, you know." - Marc Clifton
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Holla, I just read "Going Postal" a few pages back, and that reminded me of the question I have always wanted to ask: What makes the check so popular in the financial world "over there" as opposed to the omnipresent wire- transfer "over here"? What's the rationale behind this fundamental difference? I noticed that there are many problems with the USPS. Why is the check still so popular, even if it is an item that must be sent by mail, as opposed to the "un-stealable" wire transfer. I am looking forward to your answers.
Cheers, Sebastian -- "If it was two men, the non-driver would have challenged the driver to simply crash through the gates. The macho image thing, you know." - Marc Clifton
Our company doesn't issue or accept cheques, at all, and I have only at one employer ever received a salary cheque, because I was a contractor and not on the payroll.
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Holla, I just read "Going Postal" a few pages back, and that reminded me of the question I have always wanted to ask: What makes the check so popular in the financial world "over there" as opposed to the omnipresent wire- transfer "over here"? What's the rationale behind this fundamental difference? I noticed that there are many problems with the USPS. Why is the check still so popular, even if it is an item that must be sent by mail, as opposed to the "un-stealable" wire transfer. I am looking forward to your answers.
Cheers, Sebastian -- "If it was two men, the non-driver would have challenged the driver to simply crash through the gates. The macho image thing, you know." - Marc Clifton
Most of my bills are done via electrons now. The only checks I write monthly are to my landlord (mom and pop vs big business owners) and my power company which wants $4 as a service fee for online billpay. :mad: Otherwise the only checks I deal with are almost all rebates; the hope here is that you'll forget to cash them and the rebate company pockets the money.
Today's lesson is brought to you by the word "niggardly". Remember kids, don't attribute to racism what can be explained by Scandinavian language roots. -- Robert Royall
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Holla, I just read "Going Postal" a few pages back, and that reminded me of the question I have always wanted to ask: What makes the check so popular in the financial world "over there" as opposed to the omnipresent wire- transfer "over here"? What's the rationale behind this fundamental difference? I noticed that there are many problems with the USPS. Why is the check still so popular, even if it is an item that must be sent by mail, as opposed to the "un-stealable" wire transfer. I am looking forward to your answers.
Cheers, Sebastian -- "If it was two men, the non-driver would have challenged the driver to simply crash through the gates. The macho image thing, you know." - Marc Clifton
In the US, checks are usually processed for free. Traditional "wire transfer" providers have always charged an exhorbitant fee. More recently, there has been a steady growth in acceptance for electronic transfers, after slow adoption due to security fears. Trust in computers has been slow to grow among the Great Unwashed here in the US. Like most here, probably, nearly all of my payments are now electronic, though my auto finance company and the electric company still get a checks. Nissan Motor Acceptance wants to charge me an additional $5 per transaction for the privelege of using online payments, and the electric company is too dumb to figure out how to offer online payments. One oddity is the gas company; they offer online payments, but I have to go through CheckFree, which issues checks. Goofy, eh?
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
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Holla, I just read "Going Postal" a few pages back, and that reminded me of the question I have always wanted to ask: What makes the check so popular in the financial world "over there" as opposed to the omnipresent wire- transfer "over here"? What's the rationale behind this fundamental difference? I noticed that there are many problems with the USPS. Why is the check still so popular, even if it is an item that must be sent by mail, as opposed to the "un-stealable" wire transfer. I am looking forward to your answers.
Cheers, Sebastian -- "If it was two men, the non-driver would have challenged the driver to simply crash through the gates. The macho image thing, you know." - Marc Clifton
i do most of my banking on-line these days. i do have one account where the bank charges a $10/mo fee for the privilege, so i use checks for that. as for person-to-person "wire transfer", as Roger notes above, they are expensive. and an international wire transfer is very expensive ($25-$35, last time i checked). i don't know why. writing a check is free.
Sebastian Schneider wrote:
I noticed that there are many problems with the USPS.
no, not really. i can't think of a time where i've ever had a letter get lost in the mail (either coming or going). sometimes they can be slow, and they can be a PITA to deal with for items that require signatures, but they are very reliable. YMMV. and yeah, you can steal a check, but it's pretty hard to cash a check that isn't made out to you. you'd be better off trying to gain access to the account by using the account number and trying to trick a bank employee into authorizing a transfer.
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Most of my bills are done via electrons now. The only checks I write monthly are to my landlord (mom and pop vs big business owners) and my power company which wants $4 as a service fee for online billpay. :mad: Otherwise the only checks I deal with are almost all rebates; the hope here is that you'll forget to cash them and the rebate company pockets the money.
Today's lesson is brought to you by the word "niggardly". Remember kids, don't attribute to racism what can be explained by Scandinavian language roots. -- Robert Royall
dan neely wrote:
which wants $4 as a service fee for online billpay.
Yeah there are at least 2 utilities that I pay this extra 4.95 for - that's an extra 10 bucks a month.
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com link -
dan neely wrote:
which wants $4 as a service fee for online billpay.
Yeah there are at least 2 utilities that I pay this extra 4.95 for - that's an extra 10 bucks a month.
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com linkFor $10 you can get a box of checks and a box of envelopes; which for two bills/month will last you over a year, then you're only paying $1/mo for postage.
Today's lesson is brought to you by the word "niggardly". Remember kids, don't attribute to racism what can be explained by Scandinavian language roots. -- Robert Royall
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Holla, I just read "Going Postal" a few pages back, and that reminded me of the question I have always wanted to ask: What makes the check so popular in the financial world "over there" as opposed to the omnipresent wire- transfer "over here"? What's the rationale behind this fundamental difference? I noticed that there are many problems with the USPS. Why is the check still so popular, even if it is an item that must be sent by mail, as opposed to the "un-stealable" wire transfer. I am looking forward to your answers.
Cheers, Sebastian -- "If it was two men, the non-driver would have challenged the driver to simply crash through the gates. The macho image thing, you know." - Marc Clifton
Wire transfer, in the form of Western Union, is actually quite popular among people who don't trust banks, aren't trusted by banks, or frequently need to transfer money quickly while avoiding lots of uncomfortable questions. But it's usually a total rip-off. If i recall correctly, you could actually FedEx cash, overnight, for less. Checks are cheap. And when you're in a pre-existing relationship with the person you're paying (they know where you live, they know you're gonna be there a while... utilities for instance), checks are not an unreasonable form of payment. Retail has become considerably less accepting of them however.
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Holla, I just read "Going Postal" a few pages back, and that reminded me of the question I have always wanted to ask: What makes the check so popular in the financial world "over there" as opposed to the omnipresent wire- transfer "over here"? What's the rationale behind this fundamental difference? I noticed that there are many problems with the USPS. Why is the check still so popular, even if it is an item that must be sent by mail, as opposed to the "un-stealable" wire transfer. I am looking forward to your answers.
Cheers, Sebastian -- "If it was two men, the non-driver would have challenged the driver to simply crash through the gates. The macho image thing, you know." - Marc Clifton
I do whatever is cheapest. Some idiots still charge for online payments so I send them a check.
Need custom software developed? I do C# development and consulting all over the United States. A man said to the universe: "Sir I exist!" "However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation." --Stephen Crane
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Holla, I just read "Going Postal" a few pages back, and that reminded me of the question I have always wanted to ask: What makes the check so popular in the financial world "over there" as opposed to the omnipresent wire- transfer "over here"? What's the rationale behind this fundamental difference? I noticed that there are many problems with the USPS. Why is the check still so popular, even if it is an item that must be sent by mail, as opposed to the "un-stealable" wire transfer. I am looking forward to your answers.
Cheers, Sebastian -- "If it was two men, the non-driver would have challenged the driver to simply crash through the gates. The macho image thing, you know." - Marc Clifton
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dan neely wrote:
which wants $4 as a service fee for online billpay.
Yeah there are at least 2 utilities that I pay this extra 4.95 for - that's an extra 10 bucks a month.
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com linkNishant Sivakumar wrote:
that's an extra 10 bucks a month.
why pay extra $10 when you can get it for free My bank (Citizen's Bank and local Credit Union) have *free* bill payment service. If the company can receive ACH payment, it gets wired overnight, otherwise they write a check and send it postal for free. Yipeeeeeeeeee :-D
Yusuf
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:)
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
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:)
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
And 5 of the remaining 6 know how to spell it properly but choose to spell it correctly. ;P
BDF People don't mind being mean; but they never want to be ridiculous. -- Moliere
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Ah, the noble and ancient Canuck sport of american baiting :-D
Visit http://www.notreadytogiveup.com/[^] and do something special today.
Looks like I took the bait. :-O
BDF People don't mind being mean; but they never want to be ridiculous. -- Moliere
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Holla, I just read "Going Postal" a few pages back, and that reminded me of the question I have always wanted to ask: What makes the check so popular in the financial world "over there" as opposed to the omnipresent wire- transfer "over here"? What's the rationale behind this fundamental difference? I noticed that there are many problems with the USPS. Why is the check still so popular, even if it is an item that must be sent by mail, as opposed to the "un-stealable" wire transfer. I am looking forward to your answers.
Cheers, Sebastian -- "If it was two men, the non-driver would have challenged the driver to simply crash through the gates. The macho image thing, you know." - Marc Clifton
'greed' factor at work here. When I write a cheque, regardless of the date of the cheque, I just have to ensure that the funds to cover the cheque are available on the day that the cheque makes it's way back to my bank. This could be a day or two to possibly several weeks. If I do a wire transfer, the money leaves my account immediately, and somebody else now has control of the funds. :)
Chris Meech I am Canadian. [heard in a local bar] In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. [Yogi Berra]
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Holla, I just read "Going Postal" a few pages back, and that reminded me of the question I have always wanted to ask: What makes the check so popular in the financial world "over there" as opposed to the omnipresent wire- transfer "over here"? What's the rationale behind this fundamental difference? I noticed that there are many problems with the USPS. Why is the check still so popular, even if it is an item that must be sent by mail, as opposed to the "un-stealable" wire transfer. I am looking forward to your answers.
Cheers, Sebastian -- "If it was two men, the non-driver would have challenged the driver to simply crash through the gates. The macho image thing, you know." - Marc Clifton
The wife handles that; she writes checks unless there's a discount for paying online. Or sometimes she'll wait until the last moment and then pay online.
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And 5 of the remaining 6 know how to spell it properly but choose to spell it correctly. ;P
BDF People don't mind being mean; but they never want to be ridiculous. -- Moliere
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Most of my bills are done via electrons now. The only checks I write monthly are to my landlord (mom and pop vs big business owners) and my power company which wants $4 as a service fee for online billpay. :mad: Otherwise the only checks I deal with are almost all rebates; the hope here is that you'll forget to cash them and the rebate company pockets the money.
Today's lesson is brought to you by the word "niggardly". Remember kids, don't attribute to racism what can be explained by Scandinavian language roots. -- Robert Royall
Wow, Direct Debit payments to utilities in the UK are cheaper than paying by cheque. Of course when they come to refund money it is always by cheque though!
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Holla, I just read "Going Postal" a few pages back, and that reminded me of the question I have always wanted to ask: What makes the check so popular in the financial world "over there" as opposed to the omnipresent wire- transfer "over here"? What's the rationale behind this fundamental difference? I noticed that there are many problems with the USPS. Why is the check still so popular, even if it is an item that must be sent by mail, as opposed to the "un-stealable" wire transfer. I am looking forward to your answers.
Cheers, Sebastian -- "If it was two men, the non-driver would have challenged the driver to simply crash through the gates. The macho image thing, you know." - Marc Clifton
I haven't had a cheque book for 5 or 6 years and didn't miss it till I needed to pay a small company for a holiday this year. 2 mins on the phone though and I'd transferred the funds the same day, he could see the money via his internet banking site before I'd put down the phone. Compare that to waiting a week for royal mail to deliver a first class letter and then 5 days for a cheque to clear (but could still be reversed from your account) etc etc. Russ