Target no longer accepting checks as of July 15th, 2024

[Scott5114]

n that case, I found out the customer had died between the days of visiting the shop, and us cashing the check.

Yikes. Not really much you could do there but eat the loss, I'm guessing.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

People pay with checks in 2024?

Certain government services like passport renewal are by mail only, so using a check is required for payment.

[SSOWorld]

People pay with checks in 2024?

The USA is a hodgepodge of everyone does their own thing unlike Canada and Europe, so yes.

Walmart may take Apple Pay in Canada, but they will never take it in the USA. They don't take NFC transactions - the only "contactless" method is a QR code on their own app.

The passport renewal example above.  In fact, many government agencies are still in the stone age here.

Anyone who does not want to deal with fees tacked on by processing agencies (like credit card companies).  I'm not going to make a non-profit pay for fees for annual dues for example, there is not enough income to cover.

The USA's mentality has been cemented by a SCOTUS ruling last week that takes government regulation out of business practice such as imposing such fees.

[Scott5114]

The USA's mentality has been cemented by a SCOTUS ruling last week that takes government regulation out of business practice such as imposing such fees.

Shit, I didn't even realize, that ruling probably takes out the entire CFPB, huh?

[jeffandnicole]

People pay with checks in 2024?

Certain government services like passport renewal are by mail only, so using a check is required for payment.

That stone age is ending.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/renew-online.html#Step%20Seven

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/fees.html#Payment

[kalvado]

Anyone who does not want to deal with fees tacked on by processing agencies (like credit card companies).  I'm not going to make a non-profit pay for fees for annual dues for example, there is not enough income to cover.

I thought there are fees for check processing as well. Personal to personal account that's exempt generally, but for business?
Same with cash, it's not totally free to move through the bank.

[SectorZ]

The USA's mentality has been cemented by a SCOTUS ruling last week that takes government regulation out of business practice such as imposing such fees.

Shit, I didn't even realize, that ruling probably takes out the entire CFPB, huh?

It shouldn't, it just means that Congress has to be more direct with the rules. The CFPB has the right to enforce rules made by Congress, not by themselves. That's really the crux of that decision.

[webny99]

Writing a check is time consuming and opens the merchant to fraud.

Perhaps more importantly, it opens up the customer to fraud since it puts their bank information out there for the whole world to see. Considering that the majority of check fraud originates from physical checks, I'll never understand the idea that it's somehow more secure than other payment methods.

[SEWIGuy]

I wrote a check to the pet groomer a couple months ago because they had a sign asking us to pay for it that way to avoid credit card fees.

Then they didn't cash it for six weeks, which doesn't seem to make sense.

[ZLoth]

Writing a check is time consuming and opens the merchant to fraud.

Perhaps more importantly, it opens up the customer to fraud since it puts their bank information out there for the whole world to see. Considering that the majority of check fraud originates from physical checks, I'll never understand the idea that it's somehow more secure than other payment methods.

The routing and account information is printed at the bottom of the check, and you can easily order new checks from multiple vendors including Walmart with that information. Having said that, it's extremely rare that I write checks, and usually it's either for my Toastmasters club or a government entity. The government entities usually have a way to pay by credit card, but it goes through a third party provider and involves a surcharge.

I dislike writing checks to private entities because sometimes they take their sweet time to deposit it. Thankfully, some do offer to accept Zelle transfers, but the limit set by my credit union is super low. 

[formulanone]

People pay with checks in 2024?

Certain government services like passport renewal are by mail only, so using a check is required for payment.

That stone age is ending.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/renew-online.html#Step%20Seven

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/fees.html#Payment

Yet the dawn and sunset are presently very close together...

Thanks for visiting! Our daily window for Online Passport Renewal has now closed. A limited number of individuals can renew their passports online each day during our public beta period. Please try again another day or visit travel.state.gov/renew to renew by mail.

[hotdogPi]

I worked at Stop & Shop from June 2018 to February 2020 (store closed for reasons unrelated to the pandemic). Extremely few people used checks. Surprisingly, about half of customers used cash, which is a lot higher than what people have been saying their experiences are in various threads on this forum.

[webny99]

I worked at Stop & Shop from June 2018 to February 2020 (store closed for reasons unrelated to the pandemic). Extremely few people used checks. Surprisingly, about half of customers used cash, which is a lot higher than what people have been saying their experiences are in various threads on this forum.

I'm not personally surprised that many people still use cash, and I still use it myself occasionally. However, I am curious if you think 1% is an accurate estimate for people paying by check.

[hotdogPi]

1% is way too high. That would be at least one a day, which did not happen.

[SectorZ]

Running a register at Walmart for 5 years 1996-2001, albeit in Sporting Goods and not the front end, checks were probably 10% or so back then. I could definitely feel a change in credit card use thru that time, but mostly replacing cash. This was also the period gift certificates were replaced by gift cards, and I think that actually helped credit card usage as people who may not have used plastic to pay for something now were with gift cards.

[Rothman]

Running a register at Walmart for 5 years 1996-2001, albeit in Sporting Goods and not the front end, checks were probably 10% or so back then. I could definitely feel a change in credit card use thru that time, but mostly replacing cash. This was also the period gift certificates were replaced by gift cards, and I think that actually helped credit card usage as people who may not have used plastic to pay for something now were with gift cards.

23 years ago is practically a generation ago.  Thinking of what 23 years looks like in terms of 23 years prior to my high school graduation or master's degree...that's sobering.

[Big John]

Running a register at Walmart for 5 years 1996-2001, albeit in Sporting Goods and not the front end, checks were probably 10% or so back then. I could definitely feel a change in credit card use thru that time, but mostly replacing cash. This was also the period gift certificates were replaced by gift cards, and I think that actually helped credit card usage as people who may not have used plastic to pay for something now were with gift cards.

Was that also the time you could hand a blank check to the cashier, where the computer would fill in all the info, then hand the check back for a signature?

[SectorZ]

Running a register at Walmart for 5 years 1996-2001, albeit in Sporting Goods and not the front end, checks were probably 10% or so back then. I could definitely feel a change in credit card use thru that time, but mostly replacing cash. This was also the period gift certificates were replaced by gift cards, and I think that actually helped credit card usage as people who may not have used plastic to pay for something now were with gift cards.

Was that also the time you could hand a blank check to the cashier, where the computer would fill in all the info, then hand the check back for a signature?

It was in theory. It was a roll of the dice on whether my register would eat half the check, pull it in at an angle, or pull it in and just not print anything on it.

[vdeane]

Perhaps more importantly, it opens up the customer to fraud since it puts their bank information out there for the whole world to see. Considering that the majority of check fraud originates from physical checks, I'll never understand the idea that it's somehow more secure than other payment methods.

In theory at least, the time your information is out there is less, just the time from when you handed out the check and when it gets deposited in the bank.  Of course, with things like mobile deposit and whatnot, that's a lot more complicated than it used to be.  Used to be the check had to be given to the bank and it wasn't kept by whoever it was given to.

Meanwhile, information to pay electronically tends to be stored on some server somewhere until the end of time.  This is mainly an issue with paying for something online these days, but back in the mag stripe days, it affected in-person transactions as well (I'm guessing you're too young to remember places pressing the embossed numbers against carbon paper, but the mag stripe was basically the exact same process except digital).  This is why the Target data breach was such a big deal; anyone who had ever shopped there during a time period of months if not years had their credit/debit card information stolen and sold on the dark web.

Yet the dawn and sunset are presently very close together...

Thanks for visiting! Our daily window for Online Passport Renewal has now closed. A limited number of individuals can renew their passports online each day during our public beta period. Please try again another day or visit travel.state.gov/renew to renew by mail.

The very concept of a website having "business hours" needs to die in a fire.  Shows that they're still in the stone age.

[1995hoo]

The very concept of a website having "business hours" needs to die in a fire.  Shows that they're still in the stone age.

I know of a number of businesses, almost all of them based in New York, that operate websites that will allow you to view items, and add them to your shopping cart, but will not let you check out at any time from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday, as well as on certain Jewish holy days. I gather the intent has something to do with the concept that letting you complete a transaction apparently constitutes a violation of the Jewish precept against performing any work on the Sabbath. I don't know enough about all the ins and outs of that precept to understand why that is, as opposed to allowing people to order but then the company not fulfilling the order until after the Sabbath is over, but I'm also not going to criticize them about it precisely because I don't know enough about Jewish theology and also because, as a non-Jew, I think it would be in exceptionally poor taste for me to do so (not to mention a violation of forum rules).

[brad2971]

The USA's mentality has been cemented by a SCOTUS ruling last week that takes government regulation out of business practice such as imposing such fees.

Shit, I didn't even realize, that ruling probably takes out the entire CFPB, huh?

It shouldn't, it just means that Congress has to be more direct with the rules. The CFPB has the right to enforce rules made by Congress, not by themselves. That's really the crux of that decision.

That, and SCOTUS, in a separate decision, UPHELD the CFPB's funding: https://www.morganlewis.com/blogs/finreg/2024/05/us-supreme-court-upholds-consumer-financial-protection-bureau-funding-structure#:~:text=The%20Supreme%20Court%27s%20ruling%20affirms,annual%20funding%20approval%20from%20Congress.

[brad2971]

Writing a check is time consuming and opens the merchant to fraud.

Perhaps more importantly, it opens up the customer to fraud since it puts their bank information out there for the whole world to see. Considering that the majority of check fraud originates from physical checks, I'll never understand the idea that it's somehow more secure than other payment methods.

Never, under any circumstances, underestimate how "Beat the Bank" is still ingrained in the public psyche.

[Scott5114]

The very concept of a website having "business hours" needs to die in a fire.  Shows that they're still in the stone age.

I know of a number of businesses, almost all of them based in New York, that operate websites that will allow you to view items, and add them to your shopping cart, but will not let you check out at any time from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday, as well as on certain Jewish holy days. I gather the intent has something to do with the concept that letting you complete a transaction apparently constitutes a violation of the Jewish precept against performing any work on the Sabbath. I don't know enough about all the ins and outs of that precept to understand why that is, as opposed to allowing people to order but then the company not fulfilling the order until after the Sabbath is over, but I'm also not going to criticize them about it precisely because I don't know enough about Jewish theology and also because, as a non-Jew, I think it would be in exceptionally poor taste for me to do so (not to mention a violation of forum rules).

I too would be interested to know what the rules are on this. I remember reading there are elevators that have a "Sabbath mode" where they automatically stop at every floor so that one doesn't have to press a button (which is considered doing work) to reach the desired floor. If that is acceptable, I don't see why setting a website up to automatically accept orders for later fulfillment wouldn't be.

Then again I literally live in Sin City, so I'm clearly not the target audience for these kinds of rules either.

Configuring a website to do something based on sunset/sunrise times sounds miserable, so I hope they paid their developer well.

[Road Hog]

I have had the best luck at running regular personal-sized checks through our MICR. The big honking business-size checks have been a little more problematic, but those are increasingly rare.

[1995hoo]

... I remember reading there are elevators that have a "Sabbath mode" where they automatically stop at every floor so that one doesn't have to press a button (which is considered doing work) to reach the desired floor. If that is acceptable ...

Sabbath elevators are themselves apparently controversial in Jewish thought. Some people believe that a person using such an elevator still causes it to do work because the addition of a person's weight inside the elevator car changes the amount of tension on the cable and thus the amount of force the motor must exert to raise or lower the elevator. I would think the motor is set based on the maximum load that's usually stamped on the elevator control panel.

If you ever visit a building in New York that has a Sabbath elevator, you'll learn very quickly which one it is, either the hard way (by riding it and finding out) or the easy way (other people warn you not to board that elevator unless you're going to a low floor).