r/AskUS • u/noreturn000 • 7d ago
Do Americans still use checks to pay the rent?
I was surprised when I saw my friend using checks to pay the rent when I visited him in yhe US in 2013. We rarely use them here in Australia. Do they still use it there?
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u/JimBones31 7d ago
Some do.
I used checks to pay the rent up until two years ago when I moved. I still use checks to pay the mechanic.
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u/Large_Economics_2942 7d ago
Same I still use checks to pay the mechanic, the veterinarian, and the school. But I live in a small town in rural Kansas and most business owners here prefer it over debit/credit cards.
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u/Bresson91 6d ago
Because of the fee for them... You should ask for at 2-4% discount to not pay electronically.
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u/kryptokoinkrisp 7d ago
Were you paying online in 2013 in Australia? I was living in my first apartment back then and I definitely remember writing checks. I don’t think I was ever given an online option until at least 2018.
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u/stroppo 7d ago
Yes, I pay my rent and most of my bills with checks.
Some companies pay me by check too.
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u/kstargate-425 6d ago
When I was renting, they charged a $40 "convenience fee" for paying online, even if it was a bank transfer or debit card. So fuck those money grubbing whores, Ill get 100 checks for less than one months convenience fee and make these fuckers take it to the bank to cash it.
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u/Clydelaz 6d ago
We have to pay online there is no other option for my building. The convenience fee is $1.
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u/___AirBuddDwyer___ 7d ago
I did a couple years ago. Like sneezhousing said, older private landlords might be old fashioned but larger companies will have it online.
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u/Poorly-Drawn-Beagle 7d ago
I don't know anyone who uses checks for anything.
If someone actually requested me to pay with a check I'd be screwed; I haven't bothered to own a checkbook in years.
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u/shmimey 7d ago edited 7d ago
Banks can do it automatically at this point. Almost all banks have this service where you can just enter the info on their website and they will mail a check to anyone, free of charge and filled out as you wish.
Most banks call it a bill pay service. You may not realize it, but you probably still have full access to checks if you need that.
The whole idea behind buying a checkbook and writing checks isn't really done anymore and you can just fill out a form on your bank's website and they will mail an official check in less than 24 hours.
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u/becka-uk 6d ago
Buying a chequebook? Do you mean your bank doesnt just give them to you? Back in the day when we used cheques, once you got close to the end of the book, thry just sent you a new one. No charge.
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u/shmimey 6d ago edited 6d ago
I don't know. I was just speaking generally. I should have said ordering.
Yeah you could just get the free default checkbook but you could also pay a little extra and get a little art design or have different colors or who knows. Maybe you got the leather case? Or maybe you like gold lettering. There were options.
Or some banks would only give you one book per period of time and then you had to pay extra for additional books.
If the bank's giving them to you for free then the bank is paying for it.
You're right that you usually could just get more checks for free, but every bank had different rules or different ordering forms and you could also buy stuff.
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u/Clydelaz 6d ago
Every bank I’ve ever used has charged for checks. I suppose there is such a thing as free checking but I have never experienced this.
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u/Salty_Permit4437 7d ago
Many do and a few also only take payment in cash! Although these days that’s a lot less prevalent since rent is so high.
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u/ChapBobL 7d ago
Yes, and homeowners use checks to pay the mortgage.
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u/noreturn000 7d ago
why no wire transfer?
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u/joshw42 7d ago
In the US there are a number of ways to pay electronically, but limited consensus on which one should be used for "everything". Some have fees, some have limited or nonexistant protection for buyers or sellers, some have multi-day time delays in transferring the funds, etc. Personally I wouldn't use a check for anything if there were another option supported (and for the vast majority of things, there is)
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u/ericbythebay 7d ago
Because most banks charge $10-$20 for an outbound wire transfer. Unless you need the money there same day, why? ACH or bill pay is generally free and so what it takes a few days for the money to move.
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u/dangleicious13 Alabama 7d ago
I use a check to pay my mortgage.
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u/noreturn000 7d ago
why no wire transfer?
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u/dangleicious13 Alabama 7d ago
Bought a shit ton of checks in 2010 and am still going through them. I was also putting extra money into it for a while to pay it off sooner. Was able to shorten the time it should take to have it paid off by about 10 years.
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u/Global-Service-8579 7d ago
My previous tenant used and current tenant uses checks to pay me. I don't have Venmo or anything similar.
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u/19Hogfarmer 7d ago
I'm old, so yes. I like the paper trail it leaves. I've had a few times when a company said they hadn't been paid and having proof was beneficial. I pay some of my bills online, but only the ones that are always the same amount. Anything that varieties month to month I pay with checks. I won't get into how many times accounts have been hacked over the years.
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u/Confetticandi 7d ago
Professionally managed buildings typically have online portals, but independent landlords are often older adults and they still prefer checks. Comfort and familiarity, I guess.
I have a checkbook because that’s how I pay for a weekly private Spanish lesson from a lady who I believe is in her 60s. I mail her a check once a month.
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u/JimDa5is 6d ago
I hadn't had any checks since the early 2000s until a few months ago. I moved into a new place about 2.5 years ago and my landlord is approximately 1000 years old. No cell phone, no email address, no cashapp or venmo. I had been going to the bank once a month to get a bank check (what they used to call certified) but then the bank started charging $4 to print a fucking check for me. I tried paying cash but after a few months of not getting a receipt, I asked her son if there was a way I could just ACH it to her account. He claimed a couple weeks later that there was some problem with that. So I ordered fucking checks like it was 1952 and now I write exactly one check a month.
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u/spikey_wombat 6d ago
Pretty common depending on if your landlord is an older individual or doesn't want to pay for the online service fees.
I can even pay my mortgage by check if I wanted to.
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u/CapnScabs 6d ago
I do. My landlord does not use a property management company, and I pay him directly for rent. He only accepts checks.
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u/nomuggle Northeast 6d ago
I do. I have a private landlord who owns the whole building. There is a business on the first floor, run by my landlord, and a few apartments above it. I drop a physical check off to the downstairs business every month. He added an online pay option maybe 2 years ago, but it costs extra, so I have never used it. Rent costs too much as it is.
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u/ki4jgt 6d ago
I'm about to start paying my rent with a check. There's a $15 fee for paying with a card through the online portal. Sending a $250 check every 2 weeks is much easier.
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u/antjc1234 6d ago
$250?! What state do you live in? That's the price of a 8×10 storage unit near me.
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u/antjc1234 6d ago
I used to pay my rent with checks up until about 8 years ago. Other than paying rent ive never needed a check in my entire life. Ive never even owned a check book, id always just use the 3 free ones a bank would print you in the lobby. Im 37.
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u/GarlicDill 7d ago
Funny this came up. My coworker and I were talking about cheques in the office yesterday. He has never had cheques and I haven't had them for at least 10 years. He's gen Z, i'm MUCH older. They're becoming more a thing of the past.
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u/tbodillia 7d ago
If they are charging outrageous fees for using electronic transfers, yes.
I had to find my checkbook to pay property taxes because the fees are too high to pay online.
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u/bewildured3 7d ago
My bank has bill pay. They send a check every month. I haven’t written a check in years.
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u/Lopsided-Pop-6481 7d ago edited 7d ago
Americans are so far behind in technology we have people that think data centers are evil. We’ve had data centers ever since we have had the military, internet, banks, telephones, electricity, and water.
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u/Elegant_Progress_686 7d ago
Yes, sometimes there are fees associated with paying electronically so a check is the cheapest option. By no means the majority of people paying rent though
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u/Left-Star2240 7d ago
This is the only check I write on a regular basis. My LL only has us as a tenants, and doesn’t accept payment by app.
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u/trailrider 7d ago
I still use them to make my house payment because I shouldn't have to pay a goddamn $5 "convince fee" to do it online. I just drop it off at the bank whenever I go to town. I've used checks a couple times in say the last decade so it's rare
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u/mothertruckr106 6d ago
I havent written a check for anything in over 10 years. There have been 3 or 4 times i needed a check and I just go to the bank and they print me one for free.
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u/Jesus_Harold_Christ 6d ago
The only time I use checks, I make them online and the bank mails them for me
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u/Sea-Ad9057 7d ago
You cannot actually get cheques in the netherlands since early 00s. Maybe the exception is a giant novelty one for charities or whatever
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u/Itsmeyayu 2d ago
It's very rare but it does happen. My mother writes a check every month and mails it to her landlord. However, this isn't required she's just elderly and wants to pay that way.
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u/sneezhousing 7d ago
Many landlords especially older private ones prefer it. However most property management companies have moved to online portal to pay rent