My sisters bank is not part of a chain. Either I mail,her a check, or I have to pay to wire it.
All the service people receive checks from me.
This year, all the service people I’ve hired for work in or on my house or yard have wanted to be paid in cash or by check. Tree removal; appliance repair; plumber; junk hauler and gutter cleaner.
My bank - a regional one - has free online banking via Checkfree. So if the lawn guy needs a check, I initiate the payment online and the bank mails him a check.
Bank also offers “Popmoney” which is designed for people to people transfers (tho i just use the checkfree option for that usually) . Also use Paypal. Used to use venmo but uninstalled it awhile back. My kids use it a lot though.
“This year, all the service people I’ve hired for work in or on my house or yard have wanted to be paid in cash or by check. Tree removal; appliance repair; plumber; junk hauler and gutter cleaner”
I used every one of these except a junk hauler. Every one of mine takes either credit card Zelle or a mailed check from Chase.
I wrote zero checks last year.
My lawn folks take checks or cash only.
My ballroom dance place isn’t yet set up for credit cards or any other payment…but checks or cash.
I like having the paper record of what I deposit to my kids’ accounts (mostly because I’m depositing to Bank of America and they don’t always get it right).
I’m going to check Zelle because my nice local bank uses it for my kid deposits…but that isn’t going to help me with the others.
I do everything else electronically.
@thumper1 your bank can’t mail a check that you create online?
If it does, you have a record of that and also any checks you send to your kids. They probably take a pic of it and deposit via smartphone, so you both have records then.
@OHMomof2 it actually takes me far less time to just write a check…and I don’t mind doing so.
D uses Venmo all the time at college, and so now I use it with her when we need to pay each other for various things. I wish more of my friends used it, too.
There are still folks out there who would not want anything but cash or a check written on the spot. One of the best contractors for a certain type of a job here is one of them. We could either use some goons who take whatever form of paymemt or this guy and write him checks. The choice was easy. There is a reason his charges are very reasonable for the quality of the work.
Online bill payment and venmo. No fees with either and have never had a problem. My housekeeper wants to be paid each time she comes and it’s easiest to just write her a check. As with others, any one time service (plumber, appliance repair, etc.) that doesn’t take a credit card also needs a check right then. So, while I certainly write checks much less often than I used to, I still write maybe 5-6 a month. My nail place and manicurist also prefer check over credit card and, since I like them and want to keep them happy, I’m happy to write checks when I don’t have cash.
A plug for Venmo: incredibly easy and free. I am part of a group of women that often do shared things whether it’s go in on a gift together, bring in food for a celebration, etc. and venmo has simplified reimbursement tremendously. It’s also made things even easier with my kids.
I’m fine with writing checks to loved ones & others, instead telling my bank and having them mail the check or other contortions. It may not be high tech, but it works and out bank gives me miniature copies of all the checks cashed with my statement.
So far, still looking for more pro & con about electronic transfers.
Venmo because it seems to be more popular, as in people have asked me if I have it for sending or me paying them for services or just person to person for like group gifts, etc.
One caveat with Venmo (and maybe others)…the “privacy” settings are very open at first, and when you first set it up it is too easy to automatically friend your entire contact list. Then the default setting is for all transactions public, so anyone looking can find out who you are Venmoing and how much. It’s avoidable but be careful…don’t blow through the setup unless you want all of your contacts suddenly knowing how much you are sending or receiving to whom.
Venmo has an FAQ about what to do if you pay the wrong person, so that is probably common.
Probably best to make your first payment to a new recipient a random amount from $0.01 to $0.99, then ask (outside of Venmo) what amount s/he got to verify that you sent it to the correct person.
Yes, the default privacy settings are something to watch for. It does seem like Venmo is trying to be a social media platform that happens to have payment to others in it.
“It does seem like Venmo is trying to be a social media platform that happens to have payment to others in it.”
No way I am linking my brokerage account to a social media of any kind.
Venmo. Everyone I know uses venmo. Heck I just got an academic award through venmo.
My township only accepts checks to pay the water bill. Its so annoying.
@ts0104 the amounts transferred are NEVER public
“My township only accepts checks to pay the water bill. Its so annoying.”
So does mine. But banks like Chase will send the check for you. That makes it super easy to send and you have proof it was sent.
Another Venmo user here. I use it all the time with family, friends, and some businesses. It is very easy to use. As others have said just be sure you set your account to private.
My kids use Popmoney through our bank, and I just started using that too. Person at the other end doesn’t need to have the program, which seems much friendlier than expecting people to have Venmo et al.
Venmo user. Set to private. I just use with close friends and family to split cost of outings, gifts, etc.
My D uses Venmo all the time. I have not used it, and just transfer funds to her acct as needed. I do use Paypal and Apple Pay, and have not written a check in I don’t know how long. I just had to mail a credit card payment to a companythat did not take online payments. So weird.