Online Bank Accounts

Check writing has become a lost art. There used to be something official about writing a personal check that made even the most minor transactions feel more important when you had to physically write out the recipient's name, dollar amount and sign your name in the bottom right corner.

In 2015, the personal check isn't what it used to be: Newer and more convenient payment methods have taken its place. According to a 2013 Federal Reserve study, payments by check have dropped more than 50 percent from 2000 to 2012, while electronic and card payments tripled. In a GOBankingRates poll last year, nearly 38 percent of 1,500 respondents admitted leaving their checkbooks completely unused.

At the same time, there's been a fivefold increase in the Google search term "how to write a check" over the last decade, according to an April article in The Washington Post. The Fed also reports that over 18 billion checks are written per year, which is proof they still have a place in this world.