Thursday, August 07, 2008

Paper Checks Officially Declared Dead

I received an email from Amazon.com yesterday, which reads in part:

Greetings from Amazon.com. We're contacting you because you've previously paid for orders with a paper check or money order. We wanted to let you know that we will no longer be accepting paper checks or money orders beginning September 8, 2008.

If you still have check or money order funds remaining in your account on September 8, the funds will be transferred to an Amazon.com Gift Card balance. The Gift Card balance will be automatically applied to the next order you place on Amazon.com. These funds will never expire and can be used to purchase millions of items from Amazon.com as well as other sellers on our website.
Now, it's true that I've not used a paper check to pay for almost any purchase in a long, long time. (I used one to order a death certificate copy recently -- does that count?) But this email reads as much like an obituary as any we're going to get for the late, lamented paper check.

I'm rather sad to see them go. When I remortgage my home to make improvements, what will I burn in celebration when it eventually pays off? My computer monitor?

RIP, my pretty kitty checks.

2 comments:

kkryno said...

Omg! I'm so old school; I won't be able to pay bills now. I'm sure it's the beginning of the end for many of my archaic ways. I've only started using the computer and internet in the last two years, due to an aversion to anything too high tech. Silly; I know.:)

Bee said...

Yes, I've noticed several businesses "announcing" that they will no longer be taking checks.

I always wonder what the offline percentage of the population does . . . when the answer to so many queries is "go online." Not having access to a computer, or computer skills, has become the modern form of illiteracy.

BTW, I can still remember the first check I wrote: to pay for a tennis lesson. I remember being so proud of my "grown-up" skill.