alt Hacker NewsI guess there's also a difference between "can use checks" vs "have to use checks" because, aside from rent, I can't recall having to write checks.
Everything else allowed either credit card or direct debit on top of allowing checks.
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Maybe you aren't required to, but there can tend to be downsides to the other methods in practice:
credit card: - often extra fees or minimums for nontrivial expenses - privacy of course
direct debit: - payee gains ability to debit any amount, and while resolution plays out, you are stuck with the consequences - limited ability to cease payments
check: - fixed payment amount; violating this would be clear fraud not attributable to "mistakes" that can happen with DD
Both my housekeeper and contractor use checks and, while I could get the bank to "write" them checks, it's easier to just hand them a piece of paper. I've also needed to pay my neighbor something from time to time and it's easier to just write a check. I do also periodically receive checks from various institutions.
> I guess there's also a difference between "can use checks" vs "have to use checks" because, aside from rent, I can't recall having to write checks.
Landlords, IME, insist on a physical check for the first payment. I think they're performing some sort of blood ritual with it in the back of the office. After the sacrifice is complete, though, they'll switch to ACH.
The only other place I've ever had to use checks is for large purchases, where the amount exceeds that which cards are capable of. Even these would be pretty rare for most people, since there's a likelihood you would finance a large purchase with a loan instead.