Target will stop accepting personal checks next week. Are the days of this payment method numbered?

Target will no longer accept personal checks from customers starting July 15, another sign of how a once-ubiquitous payment method is disappearing along with old-fashioned items like floppy disks and Rolodexes.

The Minneapolis-based discounter confirmed the decision in a statement to The Associated Press Tuesday, citing “extremely low volumes” of customers still writing checks.
Target said it remains committed to creating a simple and convenient payment experience with credit and debit cards, buy now, pay later services and the Target Circle membership program, which automatically applies offers at checkout.

“We have taken several steps to inform customers in advance” of the no-check policy, the company said.

Target’s decision makes Walmart, Macy’s and Kohl’s the retailers that still accept personal checks in their stores. Whole Foods Market and supermarket chain Aldi had previously stopped accepting checks from customers.

Since the mid-1990s, consumers have been reaching for their checkbooks less and less often. ATMs, debit cards, online banking and mobile payment systems like Venmo and Apple Pay mean that many young adults may never have written a check.

Check usage has been declining for decades as Americans have largely switched to credit and debit cards to pay for services. According to the Federal Reserve, Americans wrote about 3.4 billion checks in 2022, compared to nearly 19 billion in 1990. However, the average check size Americans wrote during that 32-year period increased from $673 in 1990, or $1,602 in today’s dollars, to $2,652.

The decline in the number of checks written has allowed the Federal Reserve to significantly reduce its national check-processing infrastructure. In 2003, it operated 45 check-processing sites across the country; since 2010, it has operated only one.

The rise in check fraud is also causing people to move away from writing checks. This phenomenon is fueled by organized crime that is forcing small businesses and individuals to take extra security measures or avoid sending checks through the mail altogether.