Checkbooks - Remember These?

1/30/2017

There was a time, and some of you may even remember that time, when you paid for your purchases by check.  During those oldie days, people actually carried around a small checkbook and after each purchase, dutifully filled in the appropriate information: the date, name of the store and amount.  And, once a month, if you were super organized, the checkbook ledger was used to balance your bank account.  

I can remember very distinctly going to the grocery store and paying for them by check.  In those days, almost everybody wrote out checks, so people waiting in line behind you, waited patiently.  Sadly, those days are gone, and I'm not just talking about writing checks, but people being patient.  These days, you'd better have your credit card handy to pay for your purchases as quickly as possible.  Delays in the line might possibly start a minor revolt!

In 1950, the Diner's Club card was used for the first time.  By 1951, 20,000 people had a Diner's Club card.  According to its archivist, American Express was formed in 1850. It  specialized in deliveries as a competitor to the U.S. Postal Service, money orders (1882) and traveler's checks, which the company invented in 1891. The company discussed creating a travel charge card as early as 1946, but it was the launch of the rival Diners Club card that put things in motion.

In 1958 the company emerged into the credit card industry with its own product, a purple charge card for travel and entertainment expenses. In 1959, American Express introduced the first card made of plastic (previous cards were made of cardboard or celluloid). American Express soon introduced local currency credit cards in other countries. About 1 million cards were being used at about 85,000 establishments within the first five years, both in and out of the U.S. In the 1990s, the company expanded into an all-purpose card. American Express, or Amex as it often is called, is about to celebrate its 50th credit card anniversary. 

Credit cards associated with banks started in 1966 by Bank of America.  It was also in 1966 that several credit-issuing banks joined together and came up with the MasterCard. Currently, the latest thing happening to credit cards is the EMV compliant chip cards.  My credit cards have these chips, but it took me some time to figure out exactly how and where to put in my credit card. This was probably not a problem for most people, but I liked things the way they were and don't see why we had to switch to something new.

It has been a really long time since I carried a checkbook.  Now a number of people have letter-sized checks that are printed and used to pay bills.  But, not everybody has a printer, so there are a lot of people out there, still writing checks by hand.  Of course, the "gold" standard for paying for purchases in person would be cash.  There are a number of folks who carry very little cash around with them. 

By 1995, the number of checks used to pay bills began a decline.  In place of checks, debit/credit cards are now used by most consumers as their favorite way to make payments. Some 43 percent of the consumers said debit was their preferred method of payment. Another 22 percent preferred using credit cards. A solid 30 percent preferred cash. Checks? Only 3 percent of the people who took part in the Fed study preferred using checks. (Check preference was highly correlated with older consumers.)  I'm an older consumer, but I've mastered the art of paying by credit card (except for that little annoying chip thing).  And with on-line sites like Amazon, you can pay for anything with one click!  How could anything be easier?

Had some light snow last night, so at least the girls aren't coming in with muddy paws, just wet ones.

P