It's the ability to take a picture of a check and deposit it into your account that way, vs having to take the check to an actual branch of a bank.

Here in the US, I still get checks frequently enough that it's nice to have.

I'll bet the confusion stems from the rest of the world having essentially forgotten what is a check/cheque almost a generation ago.

I only used them twice in my life, last one was in 2012 and I had to get a supervisor at the bank to find the procedure to get a checkbook at the time.

In the US, a lot of small employers still issue paper payroll checks.

The last time I (EU) touched a check was in 2006 - my elderly landlord used that to refund overpaid utilities. I had to google what to do with that thing - the bank I was with wasn't handling checks at all, so I had to go to a branch of a different bank. And even there they first had to look up what to do with that thing.

Maybe it's different for non-homeowners or people without kids. Just looking back at my records for about 2 years, I've written 36 paper checks in that time, not including the "online bill pay" provided by my bank which are often just physical checks they send in the mail: Kids extracurricular activities, school PTA donations, memberships in local clubs, pool service, home improvement jobs like fences and concrete, appliance repair, and, of course, property taxes.

Last check I wrote was for some car repairs at a local shop, where using a credit card would add a 3% premium. I agree, local services and contractors are some of the last people who you still can't pay electronically, but it's getting increasingly rare. Most will now at least take Venmo/Zelle.

I do own a home but find that almost everything can be paid online now. I write just a few paper checks per year. Even my taxes I pay on the state or IRS website (with ECH, so effectively a check but without the paper).

I’m a homeowner and have kids, and I’ve never written a check in my life. I can login to Bank of America and have them print and mail a check for free, but the recipient has to wait.

I only have to do this rarely, and it’s always because the recipient wants to charge a “convenience fee” for having me pay with ACH or debit card or credit card. (The seller is assuming people would rather pay an extra $3 to $5 to not have to write a check or mail anything).

Oh, cheques.

I don't think I've seen one of those since the early 90s. Do people still use them?

"Check" is the US spelling, and I still see them often enough here.

What's hilarious is that at the end of the day your transaction is added to a text file and sent along with the image to the Federal Reserve Bank Clearinghouse via SFTP. It's then communicated back to the other bank in the exact same way.