Target will no longer accept personal checks from customers starting July 15, another sign that the once-ubiquitous payment method is disappearing along with such old-fashioned items as floppy disks and Rolodexes. The Minneapolis-based discounter confirmed the decision in a statement to the AP Tuesday, citing “extremely low volumes” of customers still writing checks. Target said it remains committed to creating an easy and convenient checkout experience with credit and debit cards, “buy now, pay later” services and the Target Circle membership program, which automatically applies offers at checkout. “We have taken several steps to inform customers in advance” of the no-check policy, the company said.
Target’s decision puts Walmart, Macy’s and Kohl’s among the retailers that still accept personal checks in their stores. Whole Foods Market and the Aldi supermarket chain had previously stopped accepting checks from customers. Customers have been reaching for checkbooks less and less often since the mid-1990s. ATMs, debit cards, online banking and mobile payment systems like Venmo and Apple Pay mean that many young adults may never have written a check. Check use has been declining for decades: Americans wrote about 3.4 billion checks in 2022, down from nearly 19 billion checks in 1990, according to the Federal Reserve.
However, the average check size written by Americans during that 32-year period increased from $673 in 1990 (equivalent to $1,602 in today’s dollars) to $2,652. The decline in the number of checks written has allowed the Federal Reserve to dramatically reduce its national check-processing infrastructure. In 2003, it operated 45 check-processing sites across the country; as of 2010, it operates just one. Also driving people away is the rise in check fraud. This phenomenon is fueled by organized crime, which forces small businesses and individuals to take extra security measures or avoid sending checks through the mail altogether.
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News Source : www.newser.com
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