When I was in my early 20s my grandmother, who at the time was in her 80s, said something I still find stunning even today. She said: "I don't have those things you use to pay bills…" I said, "oh, no credit card?" She had no idea what a credit card was, she said, and was talking about those "rectangular pieces of paper you write on with a pen." That part's in quotes because it's so unbelievable… and, well, because she actually said it. She was, of course, talking about checks. How, you may ask, is this even possible? Well, I'm not entiely sure, but I know it happened.
Me? I've been a check-writing pro most of my life but after a few recent conversations with co-workers who are at least 10 years younger, I'm beginning to wonder if I sound a little too much like my grandmother. They want to know—Do I sit down at the dining room table on Sunday nights to write out all my checks for the week while, undoubtedly, yelling at all the neighborhood kids?
Yikes! Am I that old? I get it: If you're 35 or younger, the Internet was alive and kicking when you began your serious banking years so it's second nature to you. But it's not to me.
In our Mountains of Change cover story this month, KPMG's Jitendra Sharma says "the consumer is consuming financial services very differently today compared to seven or eight years ago because of the rise of Millennials." The article goes on to say that banks may not even be the future of banking. Whoa. What would Granny Kornik say about that?
I consider myself pretty tech savvy but banking, for me at least, has lagged a little behind. Lately, I've taken some banking baby steps online and lived to tell about it. So, maybe there's hope for me yet.
And while I try to remember all of my new online banking passwords, has anyone seen my checkbook? Did I leave it in my other trousers? And for Pete's sake, would it kill these kids to stay off my lawn?
Joseph Kornik Publisher & Editor-in-Chief jkornik@alm.com
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