Electronic payment options are quickly replacing paper checks as the main alternative to cash, but there are still those who refuse to let go of their checkbooks.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank, between 2003 and 2012, checks decreased by half, from 36 billion to 18 billion, with the rate never wavering much from about 2 billion per year.
A survey by banking and personal finance site GoBankingRates.com also found that men write checks less often than women, and the youngest respondents (18-24) were the most likely to report never writing a check. Residents of the Western United States, as well as those from urban areas, were the least likely in the country to write checks.
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Yet one of the most surprising findings was that every single survey respondent in the $150,000+ per year income bracket stated that they write several checks every month.
With all the alternatives, why would anyone still write a check?
Some people — like Kelly Rush, a credit union member at $7 billion San Diego County Credit Union in California — are concerned about hacking.
"I had my debit card compromised twice last year," Rush said. "The first time, I was on a trip in Hawaii and my new card was sitting in my mailbox back home. The other time was at Christmas, and that was a huge pain."
And while debit and credit cards, online bill pay, peer-to-peer payment apps, and other money moving options are more popular than checks overall, mobile payment technology appears to be evolving faster than regulation, leaving some users exposed to fraud.
Checks can also provide a convenience as some newer payment methods, like digital wallets (e.g., Venmo), still aren't widely accepted.
Ultimately, checks continue to serve a function because no payment system is perfect for every scenario, said David Walker, president and CEO of the Electronic Check Clearing House Organization (ECCHO) in Dallas.
"Checks are different in that any one of us who has a checking account can initiate those payments to anybody else," Walker said.
And when it comes to paying for goods, not all businesses can afford the credit card processing fees. Of the nation's 27 million small businesses, 55 percent do not accept credit cards, according to a survey by payments software developer Intuit Inc. of Mountain View, CA.
So-called "micro-merchants," such as hair stylists, auto detail companies, and art vendors, don't have the business volume to warrant investing in credit card capabilities.
"It's either cash or check, and most people don't carry cash all around," said Mike Fox, vice president of sales for Group ISO Merchant Services, an Irvine, CA-based payments processing company. Fox said that one-third of his merchant clients request check services.
He added that, in some instances, writing a check can help consumers save money indirectly. Businesses pay about 2 to 5 percent in processing fees on every credit card transaction. So by keeping the plastic in their pocket, customers are actually helping businesses keep its fees down, reducing the need to increase prices on goods and services to offset the added cost.
Some businesses will even return those savings back to customers by offering a discount to anyone paying with cash or check. And, because few people carry around enough cash to pay for all of their purchases, writing a check can simply be the easiest payment option.
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