Target shoppers will no longer be able to pay for their items by check.
This payment method has been losing popularity in recent years, but it is still popular among some older people.
Cards have become the dominant form of payment, whether in physical form or linked to digital wallets on smartphones, but customers looking to avoid cards are opting for cash.
The Minnesota-based retailer, the seventh-largest in the United States, announced it will “no longer accept personal checks beginning July 15,” citing “extremely low volumes.”
Fewer and fewer retailers are accepting personal checks. Aldi and Whole Foods have banned them entirely, as has Target. Others only accept them at certain checkouts.
“When it comes to payments, cheques are something of a relic,” retail expert Neil Saunders of Global Data told DailyMail.com.
Target will no longer accept personal checks starting July 15
‘They are so rarely used today that it’s no wonder Target decided to get rid of them.’
But he added: “That said, there will be small groups of people, including older consumers, who will regret that they are being phased out.
Checks can still be mailed to pay off Target Circle card balances.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, checks were the primary method of payment used by Americans: for groceries, rent, bills, and gift delivery.
Its use declined as credit and debit cards became more popular and bill payments could be made automatically by direct debit.
The fact that they are rarely used is highlighted by the Federal Reserve’s latest report on payment options.
Of the typical 46 monthly payments Americans made in 2023 (at stores, bars, coffee shops and to pay bills or friends, for example), only one was by check.
This represents a huge drop from 2016, when it was three checks of 45 monthly payments.
The pandemic accelerated the elimination of checks, and the rise of digital wallets like Venmo and Zelle is also a key driver.
The change will go into effect after Target’s annual Circle Week sale, which runs from July 7-13.
Target assured customers they can continue to pay with cash, credit and debit cards, Target Circle cards, digital wallets, SNAP/EBT and pay later services.
“We have taken several steps to notify guests in advance to make the checkout experience easier and more efficient,” the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, Target shoppers are outraged by a rule that leaves self-checkouts closed, increasing wait times.
Checks are no longer widely used by Americans. Target said low usage is the reason they are banning their use in stores
Some Target stores keep self-checkouts closed during certain hours
Local store managers now “have the flexibility to set self-checkout times that suit their store.”
The new policy implemented in March allows staff to open kiosks late or close them early, or even during the day.
But customers say this leads to long waits as stores fail to open additional staffed checkouts to make up for closed self-checkouts.
‘The store closes at 10pm but the self-service checkout closes at 9pm and there are only three cashiers between 9pm and 10pm,’ one customer posted on X, formerly Twitter.
‘Huge queue every night between 9pm and 10pm.’