4 ms·

>I can write a check in my home or office, put it in an envelope with a stamp, and put it in the outgoing post, all without going anywhere or paying anyone. I c

by bbbbb5 4y ago

>I can write a check in my home or office, put it in an envelope with a stamp, and put it in the outgoing post, all without going anywhere or paying anyone. I can complete the whole payment task in 5 minutes. Is that better than logging into your online banking, making an instant transfer? No need to go anywhere or pay anyone.

sneak 4y ago
Every time I do that to a new recipient I have never paid before (especially when my client IP is in another country (where I spend more than half each year), but also even just in the US), Chase bank locks the entire account, including all debit and credit cards, and demands an in-person (in USA) visit with ID to unlock it, because US retail banks have not figured out unphishable web authentication yet. Paying a new person is at a minimum a 3 hour process using online payments for me if they don't accept credit card payments. Also, my checks don't have my full name or billing address on them. Credit card payments require disclosing at least part of these (at a minimum, billing address zip code) to the payee. Wire transfers disclose the full name on the account. I want to send money, not PII.
- adriancr 4y ago
  find a better bank... Revolut has been great for me so far, seems to be in the usa as well, check them out at least for transfers > Also, my checks don't have my full name or billing address on them. Return address on envelope does... Also, aren't you worried someone will intercept check like in article and rewrite it?, non issue with electronic payments
  - ghaff 4y ago
    In fairness, you don't have to put your return address on the envelope. Historically, places could be fussy about accepting checks without an address although I expect that's not generally an issue today. (Of course, lots of other ways to get someone's address especially if they own a house. It's public information in general in the US.) But, yeah, I've never heard of this account locking thing. I can go to my major brick and mortar bank's web site and add a new payee in 30 seconds. Done.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
jjav 4y ago
> Is that better than logging into your online banking, making an instant transfer? No need to go anywhere or pay anyone. If I have their bank routing number and account number, sure I can do that (then it's effectively the same thing as a check but without the slip of paper). But I don't always have that info particularly for informal one-off payments (e.g. yard cleaner that came to haul debris away) so it's easiest to hand them a check.

by bbbbb5 4y ago

sneak 4y ago

Every time I do that to a new recipient I have never paid before (especially when my client IP is in another country (where I spend more than half each year), but also even just in the US), Chase bank locks the entire account, including all debit and credit cards, and demands an in-person (in USA) visit with ID to unlock it, because US retail banks have not figured out unphishable web authentication yet. Paying a new person is at a minimum a 3 hour process using online payments for me if they don't accept credit card payments. Also, my checks don't have my full name or billing address on them. Credit card payments require disclosing at least part of these (at a minimum, billing address zip code) to the payee. Wire transfers disclose the full name on the account. I want to send money, not PII.

adriancr 4y ago
find a better bank... Revolut has been great for me so far, seems to be in the usa as well, check them out at least for transfers > Also, my checks don't have my full name or billing address on them. Return address on envelope does... Also, aren't you worried someone will intercept check like in article and rewrite it?, non issue with electronic payments
- ghaff 4y ago
  In fairness, you don't have to put your return address on the envelope. Historically, places could be fussy about accepting checks without an address although I expect that's not generally an issue today. (Of course, lots of other ways to get someone's address especially if they own a house. It's public information in general in the US.) But, yeah, I've never heard of this account locking thing. I can go to my major brick and mortar bank's web site and add a new payee in 30 seconds. Done.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

jjav 4y ago

> Is that better than logging into your online banking, making an instant transfer? No need to go anywhere or pay anyone. If I have their bank routing number and account number, sure I can do that (then it's effectively the same thing as a check but without the slip of paper). But I don't always have that info particularly for informal one-off payments (e.g. yard cleaner that came to haul debris away) so it's easiest to hand them a check.