The idea of paying with a cheque now can seem quite outdated. Many people do not even opt to have cheque books when opening a new bank account. Nevertheless, there are some great opportunities and advantages associated with owning and using cheques. The below information has been devised to help you decide the pros and cons associated with using and paying with cheques.
Advantages of paying with cheques
Probably one of the biggest advantages of making payments with cheques are that they can be traced if lost or stolen. Cheques are a very safe way of making payments, they can be drawn up at anytime and are good for the use of larger payments. They are much more convenient than carrying around cash too, especially if the user is looking to pay a big sum.
Another great positive that cheques have is that they can be stopped at any time. This is a great if you have put down a deposit for a house, or a risqué investment that is actually fraudulent. The bank is able to retract this payment with ease due to the cheque codes and the ease of finding and tracing them.
It is also very physically easier to pay with a cheque, you do not have to go through the rigmarole of counting through money. This also reduces the possibility of making mistakes when counting out large sums of money.
Checks can also be traced if they are lost, this means you are fully covered in case of any foul play. This allows the users mind to be at ease and reduces the risk of any possible issues. You can post them to other people and due to the security of the cheques there is very little worries in doing it. They are also very cheap to transport; this makes them a favoured form of present or an easy way to transport money with ease.
Summary of Advantages
- They are more convenient than cash.
- Your payments can be stopped at any time.
- They are very safe to use.
- Cheques are great for paying large sums of money.
- They can be traced with ease.
- They are easy to post/transport globally.
Disadvantages of paying with cheques
Cheques are considered an outdated method of payment; this means that some retailers may refuse them. They are also not considered legal tender in most places, making it much harder to use them or worthwhile to actually own. Due to the rise in online banking and other forms of money transferal cheques have become even more outdated than before.
With this in mind, they also aren’t very useful for the more day to day purchases. They are usually used for large amounts, this is widely accepted, but for smaller amounts it is unheard of to use a cheque. As they are not so easy to use, this is one of their biggest disadvantages.
Many vendors are anxious about the use of cheques in their establishments as sometimes they can be used even if the person has no funds in their accounts. The fact that these cheques could be valueless could really make them undesirable in many places. Although they can be recalled, it is a long process and could ruin a businesses cash flow.
When depositing cheques into any account, it is very time consuming and can take a while for them to be actually deposited into your own, or another person’s account. This delay makes them much less suitable for the average person. People without bank accounts can be grossly inconvenienced by crossed cheques too. There is also a charge for dishonoured cheques and cheque books, making them even less desirable.
Summary of Disadvantages
- They are outdated and not usually used.
- They are not considered legal tender in most places.
- Creditors may refuse to accept them.
- Cheques are valueless if the owner has no funds.
- They aren’t suitable for small amounts.
- They can be expensive to use.
- Cheques require a lot more time to deposit into an account.
Conclusion
There are many pros and cons to using cheques, ultimately it is down to the person using them and their comfortability. Stereotypically, the older generation feel more comfortable with using cheques as they are more knowledgeable of them and feel more confident with using them. They used to be the main form of transferring money from bank account to bank account, so naturally they will be favoured.
A more digitally understanding user would not see the benefits with using cheques due to the need to physically be there and the time it takes for them to be deposited and transferred. Now you can do this with ease using online banking, the transfer can be done within minutes and from the comfort of your own home.
Cheques are definitely not redundant, but they can be seen as useless by the younger generation if they are not aware of their strengths. For this reason the public has seen a huge decline in their usage and the overall thoughts that they are redundant.
