5 Effective Uses of Manual Check Writing in a Digital World

Do you still use paper checks? If you’re like many people, the answer is that you might write a check infrequently or not at all. Nowadays, with online checking, mobile wallets, and electronic payments, it can seem as if checks are useless. The truth couldn’t be farther from the truth. Even in a world with so much digital, checks can still be extremely handy in some situations.

Anyone Can Take a Check

While it may not seem like it, not everyone has a smartphone. Those who don’t aren’t going to have any way to take your payment other than cash or check. Cash doesn’t offer the same record that a check does, so this is often the best choice in this scenario. It can be frustrating to be in a situation where you owe someone a payment but have no way to provide it. Checks are the way around this dilemma.

Checks Don’t Have to Name Recipients

With online payment, you need to send it to a specific person or company. Checks don’t have this problem associated with them. While it isn’t something to do regularly, you can write a check for ‘cash’ instead of putting a name. At that point, anyone can cash or deposit this check. If you aren’t sure who to send payment to, this is a solution. It can be done using manual checks or computer checks.

You Can Post-Date a Check

A check is an optimal way to handle a situation where you want to give someone money, but at a specific date in the future. You can do this with electronic payments, but the other person can stop payment if they wish. This can be done with a check, too, but the check is a contract and acts as a way to ensure the payment goes through one way or another.

Check Personalization is Fun

This might not be the most practical use on the list, but checks can be made really fun through the use of personalization. While some credit cards allow complete personalization, this is still rare. Checks, on the other hand, have nearly endless options. Visiting a few check printing sites can show you many options, with everything from the ridiculous to the truly amazing.

Pranking with Checks

Most people don’t do much with the memo field on checks, but it can be a great way to have a little fun with your friends and family. You can write jokes on this line to give someone a chuckle when they go to cash the check. This is just a way to have a bit of fun with payments, but that doesn’t discount its use, which can’t be done with other methods.

As you can see, there are multiple reasons that manual check writing is still important, even in a world that is largely digital. Sure, you may not use checks nearly as often as you did in the past, but having the option can be a blessing when something comes up and the best option is a paper check.