Each year I am still astounded that cheques are still in use in this day and age. Inconvenient, slow to process and costly are what cheques are.
With technology in place such as Interac e-transfers offered by major banks, why on earth would anyone pay with a cheque?
What is an e-transfer?
- Allows you to send/receive money over the Internet securely right to your bank!
- No need to write or deposit a cheque!
- No need to share your bank account details (acceptance is based on a password sender/receiver knows)
- Inexpensive to send / free to receive (sometimes banks will waive the send fee depending on your plan)
- Money is accessible immediately - no waiting!
Using e-transfer is best for single transactions, in the event that you need to schedule regular payments electronically, the sender & receiver must have accounts at the same bank and you will need the receivers account # to deposit your payments. Some people may not fee l comfortable with this process, hence the cheques.
But it's usually not the issuer but the acceptor that is behind on the times! In my case, the only places I write cheques are:
- Pre/After school care
- Rent (Although some landlords used the same bank as I and we had e-transfer set up)
I'm out of cheques, so I log onto TD to see how much this is going to cost me. (This post was originally written in 2011). All of the prices have increased since.
TD CANADA TRUST
They direct me to D+H Cheque Central and I am asked to go through a step by step process:
- Choose cheque design
- Choose amount*
- 50 - $50.40 inc tax
- 100 -$58.24 inc tax (won't do an order more than 100!)
Prices current as of May 2015
So I need to see what other options I have:
- Current bank
In a desperate plea to not have to pay, I requested free cheques considering I have $2500 locked in my chequing account to avoid monthly fees of $14.95. The LEAST they could do is give me free fricken cheques! Request = DENIED. They did offer another option, if I lock in $5000!!!! Seriously? They want $5000 of my money without paying me interest so I can save $40?? Insane.
- Other banks
This is an inconvenient option as I'd have to open up another account at a new bank AND transfer money each month which is a pain.
- Other Printing companies
50 - $22 | 100- $24 | 200- $31
Shipping Canada Post $3.05
Plus applicable taxes
$28.40 for 100 cheques
They say shipping is up to 1 week (rush is available)
70 - $46.00 (didn't mention tax and shipping is free)
| 100 Singles - tax and shipping included | - | $42.95 |
| 200 Singles - tax and shipping included | - | $58.80 |
These were the only two companies I could find in Canada who offered personal cheques. There are several more than provide services to Businesses.
Print your own?
This was offered as an option to me and the questions I had:
- Is special software needed?
- Do I need magnetic ink?
- Special cheque paper?
- Is it legal? Yes, but they have to conform to Canadian standards
Seems too much hassle for the cost savings!
It looks like ASAP is the winner cost wise, so now it's down to quantity. For a few dollars more I can get 100 cheques. I really didn't think I used cheques all that much but it looks like I blew through 50 in 1 year and 3 months. The only thing I really need these cheques for is daycare but if I end up moving, I'll need more. But that will be 24 at most. I think 50 should be enough! I'm wondering if I have cheques lying around somewhere that are 'lost' lol.