Yes, I still write checks.
I wrote a check for groceries yesterday. The clerk had me fill out the check completely. Then she ran it though the register, had me sign a receipt the register printer out, and gave me back my voided check with my receipt, the money being electronically removed from my account.
Why do I have to fill out the check?
A couple of years ago, Walmart was not yet doing the electronic check, but they were offering the option of the register filling out the check as opposed to the customer filling out the check. The customer was asked to sign the check and then the clerk would run it though the register. Presumably this saved time. On a couple of occasions, I suggested that I would sign the check after it was filled out. Both times the clerk responded negatively and repeated that I needed to sign the check first.
Why do I want to sign a blank check and hand it over? Sure, they let the customer look at it after printing, and I can understand that it might save time, but if a customer objects to signing it first, why wouldn’t they accommodate that?
Nothing to do with a check, I stopped at a gas station for gas the other day. I was going to pay cash. I pushed the button to choose “pay inside” and waited for the machine to process. And waited. Well, thirty seconds. Then the voice comes over the intercom to say that if I am not paying by card at the pump I have to prepay.
Why is there not a sign on the pump? I know it is just thirty seconds, and it is not like I don’t have the time to waste.…
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At Walmart these days, you don’t have to do anything to your check at all. The register scans the numbers and handles everything electronically. It’ll also print a “void” message across the check, along with the amount the check was for. After signing the credit card terminal agreeing to the electronic funds transfer, you get the check back along with your receipt. It’s pretty simple these days. Although, there are still plenty of people who insist on writing everything on the check, even though the computer’s going to print over everything they wrote…
=== OR IF I WERE A TEENAGER IN 2032: ===
What’s a check?