"Dylan Smith" wrote in message
...
In article bfmFd.8172$u47.5515@trnddc09, Jürgen Exner wrote:
Let's say, the rest of the world finds it impossible to believe, that
paper
checks are still being used today in an industrialized country.
snip
This paleozoic banking system of the US of A is nothing but a job
guarantee
for the postal service and a permanent annoyance for anyone who has to
pay a
bill.

People use them out of choice in the US. When I lived in the US, I did

It's not just the banks, it's the people (companies) you're trying to pay.
Until pretty recently I could not pay my gas or electric bills by non-check
means, and I live in Boston, which is anything but a technological
backwater. Likewise, while banks charge a fee for processing credit or debit
card transactions, check deposits are largely free owing to tradition.

Still checks are useful for paying private people. I'd rather pay for a
used car off my neighbour with a check than show up with a suitcase full
of cash or have to arrange a bank transfer.

I know people who've shared apartments who use PayPal to reconcile all the
bills, but there's the whole inconvenience of getting people to set up
accounts. One of the more interesting ideas is to do it all through mobile
phones. Basically you punch a PIN and type in the number to send money to,
and the recipient can receive a confirmation message right away. Obviously
there's a million details to work out, but what's interesting is that it's
the first concept I've heard that handles the individual-to-individual
transfer of funds well.

-cwk.