When I was in Texas last year, we went to a bank and they had these pneumatic tubes that suck in your cheques! Like a gas station. I felt like I had time travel

When I was in Texas last year, we went to a bank and they had these pneumatic tubes that suck in your cheques! Like a gas station. I felt like I had time travelled to some alternate reality. I've lived in the US my whole life, and using those things feels like I've stepped into an alternate reality, as well. They really feel like something from a 1950s sci-fi space comic. I don't believe I've used one in five years, at least. The problems with checks are the same as the problems with credit cards -- the system is secure enough that the bank system is happier to buy down the losses/inefficiencies than to build an infrastructure secure and flexible enough to remove them. Since customers don't want to pay anything -- be it money or convenience -- to get additional security, the banks are on their own to improve things. I think Bruce Schneier had some articles on this a long time ago.