American Checks Are A Nuissance, And Their Banking System Is Archaic
If you're an American and owe someone money overseas, don't send them a check! Unless you really want to aggravate them. Setting aside the issue of not *wanting* to pay, I want to point out to my American friends, acquaintances & business associates that cheques are a really bad option if you're not US-based.
A business I've had dealings with finally sent the little bit of money owing. The business sent me a cheque, despite me asking them to use a different method of payment. It took a couple weeks for the mail to get here. Then when I banked the cheque, my bank put a freeze on the funds for 30 business days. That is apparently how long it takes for an overseas cheque to clear. 30 business days, that means 6 weeks!
The cashier informed me that for my own benefit, I would be better off not touching the funds for up to 6 MONTHS anyway. Apparently there is a growing number of US banks that dishonour US-written cheques that are cashed outside of the US. So even though the cheque may have cleared, a few weeks/months later, the bank can change their mind and decide that as the cheque had been cashed outside of the US, they would "recall" the funds.
This is apparently happening more and more often, especially in the last few years with the intensification of "the war on terror".
Oh, and if the cheque is dishonoured after having cleared, there is a minimum fee of $60 for the "bounced" cheque, *and* the funds are taken out of your account.
I was also talking with a Paypal business client based outside the US. Paypal had notified them not to touch any funds wired to that business Paypal account from the US for at least 3 months, as the transaction could be reversed for that long - again an issue of "American funds going overseas".
I find it interesting that while major banks in the United Kingdom voted to stop honouring cheques by 2018, the US is still so stuck on this archaic method of payment. I find it even more interesting that Fiji is seeing a "Mobile Money" service being deployed between the largest cell phone provider of the island and the Fiji Reserve Bank - Yes, Fijians will have a "cellphone wallet".
Wait! What? You mean that in Fiji, a small Pacific Island with less than 850,000 people, you will be able to get money (such as your wages) paid to your phone, and get cash by TXT'ing, while in the United States, a country with a population 400 times bigger than Fiji, you still need cheques?
Ok, so it's a far cry from the mobile banking being established in Japan where with some banks you can open/close accounts through your phone, or apply for loans, etc. Still, I find it impressive that a country considered by many to be "third world" is making such a radical and cutting-edge move in banking, while a majority of Americans still carry their check-book with them.
Note: This is NOT an anti-American post, even though it is a rant against the archaic US banking system.
