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ENLARGE
Christina Tyler, an employee at The Bagel Tree, swipes a credit card that Joanne Couch, left, is using to pay for lunch for her, her daughter Becca, second from left, and her sister Peggy Paulson, at the Roseburg business Friday. Some local businesses, including The Bagel Tree, no longer accept checks as the use of credit and debit cards grows.
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ENLARGE
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A sign on the register at The Bagel Tree informs customers that the business no longer accepts checks, but it does accept Visa and MasterCard debit and credit cards.
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A check won’t buy a Big Mac. It can’t necessarily be used to purchase a bagel, either.
As debit and credit card use continues to grow, the value of checks might be dwindling.
There’s a sign at The Bagel Tree in Roseburg telling customers that checks are not accepted.
“On the business side, it’s helping us right now, because when (customers) bounce the check, it’s hard to track them down,” said Manager Leny Garcia. “So, it’s like the money is gone.”
The Bagel Tree stopped accepting checks for payment in October 2006. Garcia said before that, the business received two to three checks every week that were returned because of insufficient funds in the check writer’s account.
Garcia said some customers have expressed frustration at not being allowed to pay with a check. It hasn’t hurt business, however.
“Not at all, because I think most of the food businesses right now, they don’t accept checks,” she said.
That’s true at McDonald’s. Gary Eads owns six local McDonald’s restaurants and said they stopped taking checks two years ago.
It was part of a corporate movement, but Eads said the policy was implemented locally when his restaurants went to a system that accepted both debit and credit cards.
Previously, there was a charge to customers when they used debit cards at the restaurants. The new system took away that fee.
There is still a service fee for the businesses using debit and credit card processing machines, but Eads said that is balanced by having no more bounced checks.
Nationally, the use of checks has been surpassed by electronic payments, such as credit cards and debit cards.
A 2004 study by the Federal Reserve showed the total number of electronic payment transactions was 44.5 billion in 2003, compared to 36.7 billion checks written.
The switch of checks to cards happened quickly. In 2000, there were nearly 42 billion check transactions, compared to around 30 billion electronic payments, according to the Federal Reserve study.
Electronic payments increased 13 percent over those three years, while check usage declined 4 percent.
“Debit card transactions, with an estimated annual growth rate of 23.5 percent, are the fastest growing type of electronic payment,” a Federal Reserve release states.
The number of people currently using cards and how much they are spending is the subject of another Federal Reserve study currently under way. The results are scheduled to be released later this year.
As debit and credit card use continues to grow, the value of checks might be dwindling.
There’s a sign at The Bagel Tree in Roseburg telling customers that checks are not accepted.
“On the business side, it’s helping us right now, because when (customers) bounce the check, it’s hard to track them down,” said Manager Leny Garcia. “So, it’s like the money is gone.”
The Bagel Tree stopped accepting checks for payment in October 2006. Garcia said before that, the business received two to three checks every week that were returned because of insufficient funds in the check writer’s account.
Garcia said some customers have expressed frustration at not being allowed to pay with a check. It hasn’t hurt business, however.
“Not at all, because I think most of the food businesses right now, they don’t accept checks,” she said.
That’s true at McDonald’s. Gary Eads owns six local McDonald’s restaurants and said they stopped taking checks two years ago.
It was part of a corporate movement, but Eads said the policy was implemented locally when his restaurants went to a system that accepted both debit and credit cards.
Previously, there was a charge to customers when they used debit cards at the restaurants. The new system took away that fee.
There is still a service fee for the businesses using debit and credit card processing machines, but Eads said that is balanced by having no more bounced checks.
Nationally, the use of checks has been surpassed by electronic payments, such as credit cards and debit cards.
A 2004 study by the Federal Reserve showed the total number of electronic payment transactions was 44.5 billion in 2003, compared to 36.7 billion checks written.
The switch of checks to cards happened quickly. In 2000, there were nearly 42 billion check transactions, compared to around 30 billion electronic payments, according to the Federal Reserve study.
Electronic payments increased 13 percent over those three years, while check usage declined 4 percent.
“Debit card transactions, with an estimated annual growth rate of 23.5 percent, are the fastest growing type of electronic payment,” a Federal Reserve release states.
The number of people currently using cards and how much they are spending is the subject of another Federal Reserve study currently under way. The results are scheduled to be released later this year.
The goal is to track the “migration from paper-based to electronic payments,” according to a release.
Wells Fargo has seen that migration. The bank increased its number of debit card holders by 2.4 million between 2000 and 2006, according to a company spokeswoman.
Steve Rolston, store manager of Sherm’s Thunderbird in Roseburg, guessed that 75 percent of customers used checks versus cards seven years ago.
Today, it’s closer to a 50-50 ratio, he said.
He attributes that change, in part, to promotions like free airline miles offered by banks and credit card companies for card usage.
Rolston said he doesn’t see check usage continuing to drop as sharply in Douglas County as it might in other areas, though.
He said the retiree population in this area continues to grow and seniors tend to be the most prolific check writers.
“I think they’re just old school,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to change as fast as in Eugene or Portland metro.”
Eads said there were seniors who had been writing checks at his restaurants for 20 or 30 years. When the no-checks policy was first implemented at McDonald’s, Eads said there was some resistance.
Now, he said, most customers are more comfortable with their cards. In fact, Eads said, paying with cards is not only faster than writing a check, it actually leads to quicker service than using cash, since all a teller has to do is scan the card.
As technology continues to grow, checks might not be the only form of payment that declines.
“We’re headed more and more toward a cashless society,” Eads said.
• You can reach reporter Paul Craig at 957-4211 or by e-mail at pcraig@newsreview.info.
Wells Fargo has seen that migration. The bank increased its number of debit card holders by 2.4 million between 2000 and 2006, according to a company spokeswoman.
Steve Rolston, store manager of Sherm’s Thunderbird in Roseburg, guessed that 75 percent of customers used checks versus cards seven years ago.
Today, it’s closer to a 50-50 ratio, he said.
He attributes that change, in part, to promotions like free airline miles offered by banks and credit card companies for card usage.
Rolston said he doesn’t see check usage continuing to drop as sharply in Douglas County as it might in other areas, though.
He said the retiree population in this area continues to grow and seniors tend to be the most prolific check writers.
“I think they’re just old school,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to change as fast as in Eugene or Portland metro.”
Eads said there were seniors who had been writing checks at his restaurants for 20 or 30 years. When the no-checks policy was first implemented at McDonald’s, Eads said there was some resistance.
Now, he said, most customers are more comfortable with their cards. In fact, Eads said, paying with cards is not only faster than writing a check, it actually leads to quicker service than using cash, since all a teller has to do is scan the card.
As technology continues to grow, checks might not be the only form of payment that declines.
“We’re headed more and more toward a cashless society,” Eads said.
• You can reach reporter Paul Craig at 957-4211 or by e-mail at pcraig@newsreview.info.
