7 ms·

I've never written a check in my life.

dharmab 2y ago
How do you pay for things above a few thousand dollars? I guess if you don't ever buy a pricey car or own a home you wouldn't need it.
- gwd 2y ago
  Not the person you're replying to, but the bank payment system in Europe is waaaay better than the US; nearly all four- and low-five-digit sums in the last 20 years I've paid for with bank transfer.
- Gnuke 2y ago
  You paid for your home with cheques?
- Symbiote 2y ago
  Electronic transfer through online banking, or a debit card (may well be followed with a call from the bank to verify, though it's years since I've done this). Visa's debit card limit on Denmark seems to be 100,000 DKK, roughly 13,000€. There's no limit with the national system, Dankort.
- maccard 2y ago
  Credit Card, Debit Card, or Bank Transfer. Faster payments [0] is pretty much instant. Some banks have lower limits, and CHAPS[1] is same day and unlimited. I used faster payments for buying a car, and for paying a house deposit. My bank transferred my mortgage via CHAPS. [0] https://www.starlingbank.com/resources/banking/guide-to-faster-payments/ https://www.starlingbank.com/resources/banking/guide-to-fast... [1] https://www.hsbc.co.uk/current-accounts/what-is-a-chaps-payment/ https://www.hsbc.co.uk/current-accounts/what-is-a-chaps-paym...
- yieldcrv 2y ago
  wire transfer, or walk into the bank and have them create a cashier's check and a normal check is the same as an ACH transfer, so I will do the ACH transfer or lawyer's escrow and every other larger transfer has been cryptocurrency in my life, its been over a decade of that unlimited amount, zero scrutiny, 24/7/365 option (I've tried various other country's and international system transfers, and the convenience is completely over-embellished, and limited to small amounts at best. and yes, I'm talking about instant SEPA in European banks. A lot of people don't have balances in crypto currency so it would just be more inconvenient for them to get into that system) but the only time I'm personally using checks are because a new employer's HR system wants me to write VOID on a physical one, and I've opted to photoshopping a template with my account number and routing number, because checks are the same as an ACH transfer, and they could have just asked me to copy and paste those numbers into a input field
  - schlauerfox 2y ago
    There was a time that printed checks had to use special laser toner called MICR Toner that was magnetic so the magneto readers could machine read the check bottoms routing and account numbers, but that went away when the Fed just ran it all as ACH/ electronically and optically scanned checks around the time mobile deposit and well after OCR became a thing. Last I checked the rule was still present in the statues.
- dbrgn 2y ago
  Many people in Switzerland love to buy used cars with cash, even if they cost a few thousands. (But we can also just scan the QR code of the recipient's bank account with the e-banking app and initiate a transfer that way.)
int_19h 2y ago
This is very much an American thing. And it's only a thing because our banks don't offer a truly universal and no-fee equivalent of easily transferring money between accounts across bank boundaries.

How do you pay for things above a few thousand dollars? I guess if you don't ever buy a pricey car or own a home you wouldn't need it.

gwd 2y ago
Not the person you're replying to, but the bank payment system in Europe is waaaay better than the US; nearly all four- and low-five-digit sums in the last 20 years I've paid for with bank transfer.
Gnuke 2y ago
You paid for your home with cheques?
Symbiote 2y ago
Electronic transfer through online banking, or a debit card (may well be followed with a call from the bank to verify, though it's years since I've done this). Visa's debit card limit on Denmark seems to be 100,000 DKK, roughly 13,000€. There's no limit with the national system, Dankort.
maccard 2y ago
Credit Card, Debit Card, or Bank Transfer. Faster payments [0] is pretty much instant. Some banks have lower limits, and CHAPS[1] is same day and unlimited. I used faster payments for buying a car, and for paying a house deposit. My bank transferred my mortgage via CHAPS. [0] https://www.starlingbank.com/resources/banking/guide-to-faster-payments/ https://www.starlingbank.com/resources/banking/guide-to-fast... [1] https://www.hsbc.co.uk/current-accounts/what-is-a-chaps-payment/ https://www.hsbc.co.uk/current-accounts/what-is-a-chaps-paym...
yieldcrv 2y ago
wire transfer, or walk into the bank and have them create a cashier's check and a normal check is the same as an ACH transfer, so I will do the ACH transfer or lawyer's escrow and every other larger transfer has been cryptocurrency in my life, its been over a decade of that unlimited amount, zero scrutiny, 24/7/365 option (I've tried various other country's and international system transfers, and the convenience is completely over-embellished, and limited to small amounts at best. and yes, I'm talking about instant SEPA in European banks. A lot of people don't have balances in crypto currency so it would just be more inconvenient for them to get into that system) but the only time I'm personally using checks are because a new employer's HR system wants me to write VOID on a physical one, and I've opted to photoshopping a template with my account number and routing number, because checks are the same as an ACH transfer, and they could have just asked me to copy and paste those numbers into a input field
- schlauerfox 2y ago
  There was a time that printed checks had to use special laser toner called MICR Toner that was magnetic so the magneto readers could machine read the check bottoms routing and account numbers, but that went away when the Fed just ran it all as ACH/ electronically and optically scanned checks around the time mobile deposit and well after OCR became a thing. Last I checked the rule was still present in the statues.
dbrgn 2y ago
Many people in Switzerland love to buy used cars with cash, even if they cost a few thousands. (But we can also just scan the QR code of the recipient's bank account with the e-banking app and initiate a transfer that way.)

int_19h 2y ago

This is very much an American thing. And it's only a thing because our banks don't offer a truly universal and no-fee equivalent of easily transferring money between accounts across bank boundaries.