It’s hard to get solid info on this. Yes, cheques are very unpopular. But I’m looking for concrete info. Has anyone seen a cheque being used in the past five years (outside of a museum)?

A young banker just told me cheques do not exist. I said “what about cashier’s cheques?” Response: all cheques are gone - non-existent. A banker should know but maybe this young banker is speculating on the basis of never seeing one.

The linked page shows Ing’s fees for cheque processing, which suggests the banker I spoke to may be misinformed. What is a “Circular cheque”? Is that the same as a personal check or is it a banker’s cheque? (edit: possible partial answer)

People were saying cheques are gone 10 years ago, but I know it was misinfo then at least in terms of banker’s cheques. Suppose banker’s cheques are really gone (which was predicted 10 years ago). How are people making a down-payment on a house these days? Electronic transfers are not instant. IIRC even the fastest transfers take hours to execute. A house deal involves the simultaneous exchange of money and signatures at a meeting that could go as quick as 45 minutes. Only a banker’s draft (cheque) can accommodate that. There is a reason why a screenshot of an electronic transfer often has a phrase like “this is not proof of payment”.

One problem I hope a cheque will solve is a creditor is demanding payment and they refuse cash. I refuse to open a bank account just to pay them. bPost has problems. So I’m looking for more options. I wonder if any bank would give a banker’s draft in exchange for cash, and I could perhaps deliver the cheque by hand or by registered mail.

    • ciferecaNinjo@fedia.ioOPM
      1·
      3 months ago

      Thanks for the link. I only searched in English which yielded the two links in my post.

      It was actually a Belfius banker who told me cheques no longer exist. The translation of that page is very rough because apparently French uses some slangish terms. Here’s a fun sample:

      Authorized cheque: a third party is responsible for the payment of the cheque on behalf of the shooter (or endossant) if it does not comply with its commitments.

      • The following data are displayed on the cheque:
        • Mention ‘good for swallow’
        • Mention of the person for whom the swallow is given (if no mention = swallow for the shooter)
        • Amount for which the swallow is given
        • Signature of the Rider
      • The swallow cannot be given by the shot even

      Shooters, riders, and swallows… strange. Anyway, apparently there are more kinds of cheques than I’ve heard of. And apparently I cannot rely on bankers to be aware of uncommon transactions. If I can trust that the banker was correct in saying that I cannot deposit cash into the creditor’s account, then I still need to work out if I can get a cheque for cash. And from there it’s still a long shot since the creditor expects the money to land on their account.