Is this some sort of restrict-the-payments-to-the-elderly ploy, or are checks still commonly used in the US? I'm in my late 40s so remember dealing with cheque

Is this some sort of restrict-the-payments-to-the-elderly ploy, or are checks still commonly used in the US? I'm in my late 40s so remember dealing with cheques back in the 90s and 2000s, but I imagine that anyone under the age of 40 in the UK would be utterly baffled.