When will checks disappear?

The paper check is a dinosaur walking. Not yet extinct, but close. The 300-year-old form of payment had a good run. According to Bloomberg, the average person still used 38 checks each year in 2015, but that number has been dropping fast.

Payment options like Paypal and Venmo, which allow for instant transfers with just a few taps on any smartphone, have taken over, especially among young people. Older Americans are lagging behind with only 18 percent of smartphone users over 60 having used mobile banking services, although that number is slowly growing as well.

In the UK, paper checks will be phased out in 2018. Sweden, Ireland and Australia have already eliminated them.