I signed up for a bank account with ING at the beginning of this year.  Much to my surprise, they didn’t even offer paper checks at the time.  It was no big deal to us, because we haven’t used paper checks in years.  It got me thinking about how differently our world operates than even just a few years ago.

I have been into different types of online businesses for seven or eight years now, and this is where I see our current spending trends changing so dramatically.  I sold on eBay at the start of my career, and back then you could not be an effective seller without offering check and money order payment options.  I sure hated having to deal with those paper checks and worry about them not clearing.

Today, many businesses have signs up saying they do not take checks at all.  For us, we transitioned to using just the debit card several years ago.  It is so much more convenient than writing checks, and with online banking you can always keep track of spending.  Any bills that cannot be paid with a debit card or bank transfer can easily be paid with bill pay features at most banks.

The only thing I miss is being able to pick out cutesy little checks, not that it mattered much.  I’m an office person by heart though, and we office people have a thing for stationery. 

Things have definitely changed, but I don’t think we are missing much by not having those pesky checks anymore.  Do you still use paper checks?