Target no longer taking cheques

[kyton]

Cheques will become obsolete here in Australia from 2026 for businesses and government agencies. Personal cheques will cease being offered by 2027 with all cheques other then bank cheques being ceased by 2030.

Very few people actually use personal cheques here - I’ve just started working in a bank after a sojourn since 2005. Back then we would process hundreds of cheques in a day. Now we are lucky to process less then 20.

 

[TwoMisfits]

My dentist charges 3% fee on the credit card. They said they take cash or check. I owed $16 and I gave $20 and then they said they had no change!!!! You better believe I bring my check book to every dentist appointment.

My dentist just started that this year. I now pay cash.

 

[Disney Bobby]

Unless a business offers a cash discount or charges extra for using a card, you are losing money by not using a rewards offering credit card for everything. The credit card fee is already priced into all the goods you buy. Paying cash or check means you still pay the fee and get nothing in return.

 

[CdnCarrie]

My dentist charges 3% fee on the credit card. They said they take cash or check. I owed $16 and I gave $20 and then they said they had no change!!!! You better believe I bring my check book to every dentist appointment.

I use Apple Pay or debit.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Are there any stores here in Canada that still accept cheques? Many people don't even have cheque books anymore. I do still have some cheques but it's probably been at least 5 years since I last wrote one! I think I know where the cheque book is....

I wrote one last month! First time in like 7-8 years! It was for an independent contractor. He asked for a cheque.

Last one I wrote I think was for a kid’s sports camp or lunch program like 5-7 years ago.

Can’t imagine any stores taking them.

 

[_19disnA]

The problem with checks has always been when they bounce for insufficient funds or the account closed and then the merchant is left trying to get their money back. With a credit/debit card you get instant feedback whether or not the charge was accepted. Not surprised that few stores still accept checks.

If someone does a small job at my house like landscaping or some sort of home repairs, I always pay by check instead of cash. Then I have proof of payment if they later claim I never paid them.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

About once a year I need to use a check. The same box of checks has lasted for… about 7 years now

I was still using checks with my old address (in another state) until a year ago. We moved in 2016.

 

[barkley]

If someone does a small job at my house like landscaping or some sort of home repairs, I always pay by check instead of cash. Then I have proof of payment if they later claim I never paid them.

i pay my property taxes and estimated income taxes by check for proof of timely payment.

 

[MIGrandma]

I still use checks at Walmart and Meijer. I remember when Meijer first opened here they had a problem with the credit card system so you could only pay with cash or check. People were abandoning their carts because they only had a credit card. I wrote a check and took my groceries home.

A few years ago I paid at Target with a check, but their registers didn’t print the information on the check like they do at Walmart and Meijer so I had to write out the check information myself. I thought that was so odd as the registers at Walmart and Meijer had been filling in the check information for a long time.

We had a debit card from the bank years ago, but sometimes we would forget to record the debits in the check register. We haven’t had a debit card in several years now.

 

[CdnCarrie]

I still use checks at Walmart and Meijer. I remember when Meijer first opened here they had a problem with the credit card system so you could only pay with cash or check. People were abandoning their carts because they only had a credit card. I wrote a check and took my groceries home.

A few years ago I paid at Target with a check, but their registers didn’t print the information on the check like they do at Walmart and Meijer so I had to write out the check information myself. I thought that was so odd as the registers at Walmart and Meijer had been filling in the check information for a long time.

We had a debit card from the bank years ago, but sometimes we would forget to record the debits in the check register. We haven’t had a debit card in several years now.

Isn’t your bank card a debit card? They are one and the same here in Canada.

 

[ronandannette]

Are there any stores here in Canada that still accept cheques? Many people don't even have cheque books anymore. I do still have some cheques but it's probably been at least 5 years since I last wrote one! I think I know where the cheque book is....

The only thing I’ve used a cheque for in years is sending in a “void” to set up auto-pay on a few things. Either a cheque or a form from the bank is still required for that by some places and it’s a real drag.

Yeah, I saw that story the other day and wasn’t aware that Target still accepted checks. Or any retail store accepted them.

If one has a checking account, one can get and use a debit card attached to it.

The US seems to have been slow at adopting debit and even more so with e-transfer.

 

[kdonnel]

I am always surprised when someone writes a check at the store.

My checks are over 15 years old. Not only do they have the wrong address they have the wrong bank name on them. I use them for repair people when they come for service.

I always assume someone writing a check is a time traveler from the past.

Your 15 year old checks fit the time traveler from the past scenario.

 

[kdonnel]

Isn’t your bank card a debit card? They are one and the same here in Canada.

They are unless you make an effort to make them not be the same.

I always insist on an ATM only card.

In the US debit transactions are not PIN based. As a result a lost/compromised debit card can be painful to deal with. While debit cards in the US provide similar fraud protections as a credit card there are important differences.

A lost credit card is easy to deal with. When you discover fraudulent charges you call the issuer and done.

In the US a lost debit card can be much more painful since it is your money at risk and not the issuer. A lost debit card can result in an overdrawn checking account. Which means potentially having to deal with bounced payments to normally approved withdrawals that might occur because all the money has been drained from the account. While the consumer would more than likely not be responsible for any fees their time is required to unravel the mess, probably having to contact many more people than just the bank.

Until the US requires a PIN for all debit card transactions I will continue to carry an ATM only card.

 

[sailorstitch]

My aunt is definitely one that won't give up checks without a fight. She's extremely anti-tech. Years ago she went on a rant at a family gathering about how one of her bills was now charging her a fee for paying by check. She was furious that she was being "punished" for not having an "evil computer".

 

[firefly_ris]

I still write a decent amount of checks for various things but not in retail stores.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I don’t think I ever written a check for a retail store except to pay for a dept. store bill or butcher’s monthly acct. Until recently the only need for check writing was my monthly apt cost but they have finally switched to a secure online service which reminds me I should check to see if I paid July’s maintenance yet.

 

[sam_gordon]

The guy who takes care of our lawn only takes checks (or presumably cash). No option to pay via app.

 

[Micca]

Just had to write a check for a plumber yesterday. When I made the appointment they informed me that I would need cash or check to pay.

We moved into our current house 12 years ago, the first batch of checks had a digit transposed in the phone number. I think we finally had to order a second batch a few years ago. That second batch will likely be the final batch for us.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Just had to write a check for a plumber yesterday.

This is the type of services I need to blow the dust off of my checkbook, lol.
The tradespeople you never want to see again.

 

[tvguy]

I have written 10 checks this year.
3 because I elected to, a credit card would have been accepted without extra charge.
1 because there would have been a 4% service charge for using a credit or debit card. This was to DMV to renew my Driver's License.
6 to businesses that do not take credit or debit payments and have no auto pay option.

On the flip side, businesses that only SEND checks. When I retired, even though I had my paychecks direct deposited, my final check was a check. It was interesting that rolling 401k money into an IRA could only be done by getting a check. Probably due to tax laws since the checks had to be made out to the investment firm we were using and written FBO (for benefit of) my name. Not sure wire transfers can be set up that way. And I get my Social Security Direct Deposited, but had my Medicare Part B premium auto paid out of my checking account, so the first month on Social Security they took it out of my SS AND they took the auto pay. They sent a refund by check.