Paper Check is dying. He is about 350 years old. Paper Check isn't dying a natural death. He's slowly being placed six feet under by electronic funds transfer (EFT). Debit and Credit Card make up the bulk of EFT transactions, and thus remain the primary suspects in the demise of Paper Check. Since EFT transactions first surpassed Paper Check payments in 2004, EFT has slowly been killing off Paper Check. He only makes up 10.2 percent of transactions for 18- to 24-year-olds. According to the latest investigative reports, Paper Check has seen his life going down the drain at a -6 percent rate per year since 2003. At the same time, Debit Card has increased at a 17.5 percent rate and Credit Card at a 4.6 percent rate. Sadly, even when Paper Check is being used, he is actually processed electronically. The once glorious adventure (the so-called paper trail) from payee to collector, from one financial institution to another, is no longer taking place.  Now, when Paper Check is written, his information is transmitted electronically all around the world. Paper Check will be survived by his father Cash (still making up 53.8 percent of transactions for 18- to 24-year-olds), and his conspiratorial cousins Debit and Credit Card. Rest in peace, Paper Check, and may your memory live on in the hearts of the plastic-obsessed generations of today and tomorrow. You will be missed (at least until your inconvenience is remembered). --Jens The picture is taken from this photostream, and edited/used with permission from a Creative Commons license.