Pros and Cons of Personal Checks
After a consumer opens a new checking or money market account, she’ll need to order checks from her bank or through a third-party check printing company. Her bank may offer customized checks, featuring artistic background designs or monograms, which makes paying bills a little more fun. Having access to personal checks allows consumers to pay for bills and purchases without using a credit card or debit card.
A consumer’s bank normally keeps electronic copies of canceled checks, so if a client has a question regarding a check that cleared, he can easily view an electronic image of the item. Although it normally takes three to five business days for a paper check to clear, certain vendors may authorize an electronic debit from a consumer’s checking account, cutting that time down to one or two business days. If a consumer’s checkbook is stolen, his bank may need to open another account for him and keep his current account frozen to prevent forged checks from clearing.
If a consumer writes a personal check for an amount that exceeds what she currently has in her checking account, her bank may charge her an overdraft or a returned item fee. Consistently writing bad checks may cause a consumer’s bank to close her checking account, and her bank could report her to ChekSystems, a company that keeps track of consumers accused of “bad check handling” by banks. Once a consumer has been reported, she may find it difficult to open a new checking account at any financial institution.
