6 ms·

I live an hour or so outside of Austin and people still primarily write checks as that's the only acceptable payment method, along with cash. My new wife said,

I live an hour or so outside of Austin and people still primarily write checks as that's the only acceptable payment method, along with cash. My new wife said, "Wait, why not just use Stripe? I'll tell them." I had to explain to her that one does not simply pull forward a society thirty years into the future. There is an incredible amount of cultural inertia to overcome. So I carry a lot of cash out here.

glimshe 3y ago
You'd be surprised. I visited South America and all I saw was phone payments... They basically skipped the credit card age, as cards were never popular among the poor.
- ajmurmann 3y ago
  Aren't the phone payments backed by credit cards or do they by preloaded vouchers?
  - baq 3y ago
    Bank accounts directly I’d assume. Why add another layer of indirection?
    - xadhominemx 3y ago
      It varies by country but a lot of them are just virtual debit and credit cards because the payments run over the card network rails.
- fundad 3y ago
  It’s not surprising that a lot Murica is decades behind most places in the world. Especially places where foreigners visit.
  - EasyMark 3y ago
    How is it behind? I've not been at a store in a while that I couldn't use apple pay or a card? I know it's popular to bag on America, but I figure most of HN is better than that.
    - canucker2016 3y ago
      Until Apple Pay and other smartphone-related payment methods became common, the USA credit card was technologically behind much of Europe, Canada, and other developed countries. Chip-and-PIN (EMV, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMV https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMV) is the standard in Europe and Canada for relaying credit card info & authentication. Many USA retailers were stuck using the credit card's magnetic stripe for entering card info. Evidently the USA still hasn't moved to Chip-and-PIN, with Chip and Signature being more common. Updating the point-of-sale terminals has been the chokepoint supposedly, https://lauraclery.com/chip-and-pin-united-states/ https://lauraclery.com/chip-and-pin-united-states/.
chasd00 3y ago
> I live an hour or so outside of Austin and people still primarily write checks I can’t think of an area within 65 miles of downtown Austin where checks would be common. Which direction from Austin do you live? East maybe?
ghaff 3y ago
I use very little cash in MA. But checks are still pretty much the default for a lot of people doing various services for me. I can just leave a check for someone like my housekeeper. I could presumably make arrangements to pay in a different form (including cash) but why bother? And, in many cases, it's my bank actually "writing" the check and delivering it. I'd change if it became an aberration or weird to do but it's just not a problem in general. (And I wouldn't try to pay by check or cash at Walmart for example.)
- rwmj 3y ago
  That's wild. Here in the UK, tradespeople usually have a card reader, or some accept bank transfers.
  - ghaff 3y ago
    It's becoming more common but for someone like my housekeeper, I may not even be home and can just leave a check on the counter. As I say, I could doubtless make alternative arrangements but a check is the default and it's easy.
    - rwmj 3y ago
      For someone I need to pay regularly like a cleaner I would set up a bank transfer recipient in my banking app (or website) and then payments - either one offs or regularly scheduled - are simple, instant and free.
      - ghaff 3y ago
        And so is writing a check and leaving it on the counter--especially for a service that is somewhat predictable but actually isn't on a set schedule. She texts me that she's coming next week, I write a check and leave it on the counter, done.
        GeoAtreides 3y ago
        Well, it's not really done, is it? She has to go to the bank and cash the check, right? It's not the end of the world, sure, but it's an extra trip compared with a bank transfer -- with a bank transfer she has the money ready to be used immediately.
gambiting 3y ago
Aren't cheques even worse for privacy though? Not only your bank knows exactly who you paid and how much, the seller also now has your actual name since it's just written on the cheque - at least when paying by card they get nothing. Maybe I'm getting it wrong - cheques are something I've only seen in films, in my country no bank accepts them since 2020 anymore, they've been completely phased out.
- ta1243 3y ago
  I was given a chequebook when I opened my current bank account in 2004, I've written 8, all of them in the first 10 years.
  - jason-phillips 3y ago
    Same, until I moved to a rural area. I did a lot of research about this place but didn't discover the pervasiveness of the cash society until I moved here.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
- grobbyy 3y ago
  Last I looked, checks had privacy regulations. Most other payment methods don't really. I'm also my bank's customer. For most payment companies, I'm the product.
  - astura 3y ago
    What sort of "privacy regulations?"
- jason-phillips 3y ago
  Here - that being outside of Austin in Texas - I think the root causes for this behavior lie with tax cheats and ineptitude.
- 3y ago

glimshe 3y ago

You'd be surprised. I visited South America and all I saw was phone payments... They basically skipped the credit card age, as cards were never popular among the poor.

ajmurmann 3y ago
Aren't the phone payments backed by credit cards or do they by preloaded vouchers?
- baq 3y ago
  Bank accounts directly I’d assume. Why add another layer of indirection?
  - xadhominemx 3y ago
    It varies by country but a lot of them are just virtual debit and credit cards because the payments run over the card network rails.
fundad 3y ago
It’s not surprising that a lot Murica is decades behind most places in the world. Especially places where foreigners visit.
- EasyMark 3y ago
  How is it behind? I've not been at a store in a while that I couldn't use apple pay or a card? I know it's popular to bag on America, but I figure most of HN is better than that.
  - canucker2016 3y ago
    Until Apple Pay and other smartphone-related payment methods became common, the USA credit card was technologically behind much of Europe, Canada, and other developed countries. Chip-and-PIN (EMV, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMV https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMV) is the standard in Europe and Canada for relaying credit card info & authentication. Many USA retailers were stuck using the credit card's magnetic stripe for entering card info. Evidently the USA still hasn't moved to Chip-and-PIN, with Chip and Signature being more common. Updating the point-of-sale terminals has been the chokepoint supposedly, https://lauraclery.com/chip-and-pin-united-states/ https://lauraclery.com/chip-and-pin-united-states/.

chasd00 3y ago

> I live an hour or so outside of Austin and people still primarily write checks I can’t think of an area within 65 miles of downtown Austin where checks would be common. Which direction from Austin do you live? East maybe?

ghaff 3y ago

I use very little cash in MA. But checks are still pretty much the default for a lot of people doing various services for me. I can just leave a check for someone like my housekeeper. I could presumably make arrangements to pay in a different form (including cash) but why bother? And, in many cases, it's my bank actually "writing" the check and delivering it. I'd change if it became an aberration or weird to do but it's just not a problem in general. (And I wouldn't try to pay by check or cash at Walmart for example.)

rwmj 3y ago
That's wild. Here in the UK, tradespeople usually have a card reader, or some accept bank transfers.
- ghaff 3y ago
  It's becoming more common but for someone like my housekeeper, I may not even be home and can just leave a check on the counter. As I say, I could doubtless make alternative arrangements but a check is the default and it's easy.
  - rwmj 3y ago
    For someone I need to pay regularly like a cleaner I would set up a bank transfer recipient in my banking app (or website) and then payments - either one offs or regularly scheduled - are simple, instant and free.
    - ghaff 3y ago
      And so is writing a check and leaving it on the counter--especially for a service that is somewhat predictable but actually isn't on a set schedule. She texts me that she's coming next week, I write a check and leave it on the counter, done.
      - GeoAtreides 3y ago
        Well, it's not really done, is it? She has to go to the bank and cash the check, right? It's not the end of the world, sure, but it's an extra trip compared with a bank transfer -- with a bank transfer she has the money ready to be used immediately.

gambiting 3y ago

Aren't cheques even worse for privacy though? Not only your bank knows exactly who you paid and how much, the seller also now has your actual name since it's just written on the cheque - at least when paying by card they get nothing. Maybe I'm getting it wrong - cheques are something I've only seen in films, in my country no bank accepts them since 2020 anymore, they've been completely phased out.

ta1243 3y ago
I was given a chequebook when I opened my current bank account in 2004, I've written 8, all of them in the first 10 years.
- jason-phillips 3y ago
  Same, until I moved to a rural area. I did a lot of research about this place but didn't discover the pervasiveness of the cash society until I moved here.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
grobbyy 3y ago
Last I looked, checks had privacy regulations. Most other payment methods don't really. I'm also my bank's customer. For most payment companies, I'm the product.
- astura 3y ago
  What sort of "privacy regulations?"
jason-phillips 3y ago
Here - that being outside of Austin in Texas - I think the root causes for this behavior lie with tax cheats and ineptitude.
3y ago