the people writing checks probably dont have a phone number
Why would you write something uninformed like that? Actually, the great, great majority of people who write checks DO have a phone number. Although they are somewhat more likely to have a landline phone number instead of a cell phone number. Or in addition to their cellphone number.
Writing checks is (contrary to what some of you younger people might think) still very common for such things as paying utility bills, mortgage payments, etc. though the mail.
Most people who have regular checking accounts are more likely to have a decent credit rating, and many of these people have been customers of banks, and held checking accounts, for many, many years.
The people that do NOT have checking accounts are those who are SOMEWHAT more likely to have questionable credit (not all, but a higher percentage), and are more likely to come up to the service desk asking for money orders to send payments for their utility bills etc.
Paying by personal check is much more economical and smarter than paying by money order. (With most typical checking accounts, ordering a pack of 100 checks might cost around 15 to 25 dollars (perhaps up to 25 cents per check). Compare that with the money people spend for ONE money order.
As for myself, I pay with a debit card linked to my checking account for most purchases at grocery stores. I have a checking account but limit my check-writing to purchases and bills sent by mail. It's the smart thing to do.
PS....... a paper trail is GOOD. Especially considering that one of these days a MAJOR cyber crisis will happen and online "digital" bank records etc will be vaporized. It's only a matter of when, not if.
No. We don't have a way to authenticate phone numbers, and we don't call check writers anyways. It's not a useful number.
On the other hand, if a customer is eager to provide it or has already written it on the check, it's probably a bad or stolen check. If the customer is under the age of 50, this is likely the case.
Why do you ask the question in the subject line? For real why dont you learn some forum skills?
The OP wrote the question "Does a cashier need to write down a customers phone number on their check before processing it?" as the subject line because:
1) So it will be immediately clear what the poster wants to discuss.
2) And so anyone who is bored by the question can just skip it and not open the link to read the entire thread.
3) Because the OP thinks it is helpful and easy to do it that way.
In general, I don't like the subject line to be a "mini-paragraph", but nevertheless it is actually helpful for us to decide on whether to read a thread or not.
