In the distant 80s, rectangular pieces of paper were a very common method of payment. The 21st century, fintech and internet banking have overtaken them. The practice of filling out checks has disappeared. But not everywhere. In the western continent, in the USA and Canada the practice of filling out checks still exists.
Today, it happens that you receive a check by mail from a distant relative from the West or that students working in America receive their payment in the form of a check. And then they face shock and disbelief in Croatia. Checks are no longer cashed at the branches of banks operating in Croatia. Although banks made this decision more than a year ago, many citizens are still unaware of it, so it can happen that they break out in a ‘cold sweat’ at the branch.
As explained by the Croatian Banking Association, banks have gradually reduced the volume of check cashing over the years, and most have made business decisions to cease operations with checks due to the continuous decline in the number of issued check blanks and numerous risks and attempts at fraud. – Therefore, banks have informed their clients about the possibility of notifying the foreign issuer that payments should be made via credit transfer through a transaction account instead of by check. Thus, instead of a check, the debtor has the option to make payments to a transaction account opened in Croatia or any other country, and regarding such a method of collection, the recipient must directly agree with the debtor (the foreign issuer) – they explain at HUB.
