Text 12824, 138 rader
Skriven 2010-12-02 18:09:55 av Roy Witt (1:387/22)
  Kommentar till text 12798 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: Mailboxes
=================
02 Dec 10 07:00, Robert Bashe wrote to Roy Witt:

 RB> Roy Witt wrote to Robert Bashe on Wednesday December 01 2010 at
 RB> 15:03:

 RB>>> American checks are long and very narrow,

 RW>> LOL! Says who?

 RB> Me. The ones my sister has (Fifth Third Bank of Cincinnati) are 6.8 x

LOL! They have one of those 5th, 3rd banks too!? The first one I ever saw
was in Illinois while visiting my mother.

 RB> 15.2 cm (work out the inches yourself if you want).

2.8 x 6 inches.

 RB> My German checks are 10.5 x 15 cm. Just measured them.

4.13 x 5.9 inches. The area of your check is more than the area of your
sisters' and my checks. 24.37 inches vs 16.8 inches...ours are smaller.

 RW>> Mine fit in a #6 3/4 envelope (3 5/8 x 6 1/2").

 RB> 9.2 x 16.5 cm. But that's the envelope, not the check.

Obviously the check is smaller than the envelope, right?

 RW>> Business size checks fit in a #10 envelope (4 1/8 x 9 1/2").

 RB> Still the envelope size. How about the check size?

I don't have any to measure, or you would have had that info. suffice to
say that the envelope size is already one dimension equal to your European
domestic check. 4.133 inches vs 4.125 US...

 RB>>> Or do you have a special check printer?

 RW>> I have an HP 6500. It's a copier and fax all in one printer. It uses
 RW>> 8x11.5 paper. My checks come from Office Depot in that same format,
 RW>> 4 to a page.

 RB> Now, _that_ would, of course, make a difference. If you don't print
 RB> the checks individually (that is what I've referred to up to now),
 RB> and they aren't the small size the banks issue, you'll have much less
 RB> problems. But I thought you were _required_ to use the personalized
 RB> checks from you bank... is this not the case?

No bank requires that you use personalized bank checks. In fact one can
hand print a check on a piece of paper and as long as it has the bank
name, routing number and the account number on it, the bank will honor it.

All that other info is for use by the person who receives the check for
payment.

 RW>>>> Yeup. But there's no paper trail. I want a paper trail.

 RB>>> You mean the cancelled check. Yes, my sister has noticed that
 RB>>> problem too. No proof when the check was cashed and you can't see
 RB>>> the endorsement.

 RW>> I don't get the check returned. I must go to my bank's website and
 RW>> print the cancelled check GIF here if I want a paper copy.

 RB> That's what I meant. I know checks are not generally returned
 RB> nowadays.

They can be if you request them to. I don't bother, because they're kept
on file for my access if I need them.

 RB>>> Such a pity that direct account transfers by private persons are
 RB>>> unavailable in the States

 RW>> They're available. I paid my bills online and if required, I could
 RW>> make a payment to a private citizen if I wanted.

 RB> Sure you can, but it's by check, not direct account transfer.

A check from my bank to his. It's more like a certified bank check.

 RB> The next time you pay a bill online, look to see what data the bank
 RB> requires.

I don't use that service anymore.

 RB> For a direct account transfer all you need is the name of the
 RB> recipient and the account number and routing number of their bank
 RB> (no address). If your bank only asks you for the name and address
 RB> (but not the account number or routing number of the payee's bank) -
 RB> and that's what will happen - they're sending a check.

The check they send is an electronic check, not paper.

 RB>>> - that would solve most of these problems (and have the advantage
 RB>>> that bill payments wouldn't make the USPS rich).

 RW>> You would rather the banks get rich?

 RB> I don't bank at places that charge high fees, and luckily that is
 RB> easy in Germany. In the accounts I have, I pay nothing for the
 RB> account, nothing for direct account transfers, nothing for a bank
 RB> debit card (Maestro) and at one bank even nothing for a Visa credit
 RB> card (_not_ a debit card, a "real" charge card).

The same as I have here with one exception. My 'debit' card can also be
used as a 'charge' card. i.e. if I want to make a purchase that is larger
than the amount I have in my checking account, I can charge the purchase
(up to my $5000 limit) and transfer funds later.

 RB> The banks here make their money from the interest they charge for
 RB> overdrafts (not penalties, as in the States) and the difference in
 RB> interest they pay for money in an account and that they charge for
 RB> lending it.

Same here.

 RB> In contrast, the bank fees in the States are sky-high and the
 RB> cumbersome checking system doubtless has something to so with that.
 RB> But as long as nobody complains, the system will stay as it is.

Whoops! One more difference. When I use my debit card, whether it's for
coffee at the Quick Stop or for a tank of gas, I earn money, which is paid
to me at the end of the year. This year I got a check for $79 from my
bank, just for using my debit card...that's quite a bit of use at 10 cents
per transaction.

 RW>> If the PO goes broke, who's going to deliver all that junk mail!?

 RB> How about the Pony Express?

We'd have to exhume Buffalo Bill for that.

                R\%/itt

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