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Banks are pushing the use of online bill pay and debit/credit cards instead of paper checks in an effort to be more environmentally conscious. However, according to an article by Ann Carrns for the New York Time’s Blog, Bucks, titled “ING Direct’s Paperless Account now Offers Paper Checks,” there is still a need for paper checks.
In the article, Carrns reports the online bank ING Direct, which publicizes its Electronic Orange checking as “paperless,” has begun offering paper checks.
In the article, the bank’s head of project strategy, Todd Sandler, said the bank isn’t encouraging the use of paper checks. Sandler said, “Our hope is that paper checks go the way of the abacus.”
Even though most places accept debit/credit cards nowadays, many places simply don’t have the technology to accept debit/credit cards. This is where paper checks come into play.
In the article, Sandler said, “Our customers don’t want paper checks, but they actually need them.”
According to a recent Federal Reserve Study, checks make up less than one-quarter of all non-cash purchases. Check payments declined seven percent between 2006-2009. That may sound like a lot; however, it still means billions of paper checks are used annually.
I know I personally only write a handful of checks each year. However, I usually write checks for bills or to make payments. Do you still use checks? If so, how many checks do you use and what for (bills, payments, birthdays, etc)? Do you think the paper check will prevail or will eventually lose out to electronic payments?
Related articles
- Bucks Blog: ING Direct’s Paperless Account Now Offers Paper Checks (bucks.blogs.nytimes.com)
