Goodbye Bank Checks: Here’s What Happens Now

MILAN. Bank checks prepare to retire. Once the pad of paper was the first thing that was delivered to customers who opened a new current account. But in the era of digital payments, payment apps and increasingly advanced home banking, they are becoming tools of the past.

Confirmation of the end of checks comes from Bank of Italy data: in September 2022, as revealed by the “Payment System” report, the number of transactions with checks fell below 1% of total payments with alternative instruments in cash. A flickering share which in recent years has slipped ever lower (in 2013 the level was around 5%) and which is in danger of disappearing.

Given the little use, the banks have begun to move to send the checks to the attic. It’s not a decision that affects all customers though. Only a part of the clientele is involved in this change which will be progressive. Intesa Sanpaolo is currently sending a communication to some of its current account holders informing them: «from 8 May you will no longer be able to use your check book». Then the communication continues: “We also inform you that starting from the same date, you will be able to make instant bank transfers online without any additional commission, at the same cost as the Italy bank transfer”.

For now, the customers involved are only a few thousand. But gradually other account holders will be affected by this measure. «Many customers practically no longer use paper checks – they say from Intesa Sanpaolo -. We have offered them an alternative method of payment, digital, therefore more immediate, and also more consistent with ESG choices. Obviously on equal economic conditions.

What can those who no longer have their old checkbook at their disposal do? The solutions are different and almost all keep up with the advances in technology. As also proposed by Intesa Sanpaolo, the old online bank transfer is available to customers to which the new instant bank transfer has been added a few years ago (the credit takes place instantly, the commission is slightly higher than that requested for the traditional wire transfer). It can be done both via home banking and via a smartphone app. It means that the interested person will receive the payment instantly. Among the methods available there is also the cashier’s check which is covered and therefore the money is withdrawn immediately. It’s the old piece of paper you ask for at the bank at the counter. Today it is mainly used in real estate sales and, for example, it is presented to the notary at the time of the deed. You need to apply explicitly at the bank. This solution can replace the old block, for those who really don’t want to be separated from it.