I carried traveler's checks when my wife, kids and I did year of world traveling in 1998/99. I seem to recall, we did use some of them, but it was credit cards and atms 99% of the time. I think we took traveler's checks just because we hadn't done any international travel since the 80s and really didn't know what to expect. In the 70 and mostly through the 80s, definitely used traveler's checks all the time when traveling.

My LBS still takes my checks. If I`m getting checked out by one of the younger employees I get some strange looks, but they still accept my check.
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Hell, I'd take that microchip. I hate carrying a wallet.

I'm able to do most credit card transactions via ApplePay on my watch. So it's sort of a non-implanted chip. :)

Some merchants *still* don't take contactless payments unfortunately (Home Depot).

Many / most full service restaurants also remain unequipped to handle contactless here in the US.

Yep, I've got Apple Pay on the watch, but find only the occasional retailer that takes it. 'Course, I live in a semi-rural area.

One of the LBS stores I use charge extra for using a credit card.

I split time between a metro suburb and a somewhat rural area. Oddly enough it's seemed that contactless payments were adopted faster in the rural area, perhaps because so many of the places are smaller and not big behemoths. There are some quirks - like the IGA affiliated grocery store doesn't work with mastercard in applepay but works with visa, even though it takes both as chip cards.

I say one thing though - during the height of the pandemic it sure was handy having a liquor store with a drive-thru window that took applepay. Priorities. :beer:

The downside is that muggers will start cutting off your hand.

Maybe you have spinach stuck to a tooth.

IKR. I did a 7 week bike tour in Spain in ‘00. Based on my European travel in the 80s I took a lot of money in the form of TCs. Came back with most of it. ATMs were everywhere. Even in tiny hamlets in the south. I went to a bank in Córdoba to cash some TCs. The employee rolled his eyes at me and started rooting through a desk drawer for the paperwork. The cool thing back then was that the exchange rate was better if you used plastic because you got the commercial rate.

When I went to Italy in 2013 I brought only my cards.

Just beware of the lbs’s asking for payment in Roubles.

Invariably, they are all in line in front of me at the checkout. To conserve ink, they also never put in any of the details beforehand, and they are very careful, slow, and methodical. They dot every T and cross their I's. Then they check it over several times, before they hand over the check, again in slow motion.

They still exist. Go figure:

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/t...elers-cheques/

Personal checks have no guards against fraud, whereas cash is instant and ccards have protections for the merchant. Even if there's a fee for the ccard service, a merchant can easily adjust prices to accommodate. But "shrinkage" due to normal thievery combined with fraud ... harder to stop. And with the way things seem to be going, with "plastic" and online trends, it doesn't surprise me more retailers are opting to keep it simple.

Can't say that I've checked with the couple of local shops, for whether they accept personal checks. I do cash, myself.

No, they kind a look at it like it`s currency from a strange foreign country, or like I`m trying to pay my bill with Monopoly money.

I kind a know the owner. I`ve been going to the same shop for decades. I usually have say get or call the owner , and he`ll tell you it`s all OK.
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Here`s another bit of info I`m sure you`ll all get a good laugh over...........

I don`t have a cell phone or credit card!

I drive by there every day. Once stopped to get a dozen for work and forgot they only did cash. Went to a bank machine because those are the best donuts anywhere. Pharoa's donuts in St Louis were pretty amazing too.

I pay the mortgage and utilities by check but thats about it.

Wow! The real gut punch was that when I got back to the states AmEx wouldn't cash the checks at face value. I either had to take a loss or carry them around until I spent them all. The amount was over $1,000. I was unemployed (voluntarily) at the time so I wasn't really spending money at places that took TCs. My lovcal watering whole certainly didn't. I sucked it up and took the loss.

The local bar in Philly I have been going to for nearly 30 years is still cash only. And it's not uncommon for smaller businesses in town to have a minimum purchase amount for card transactions. Usually ranges between $5 and $10.

I can't remember the last time I wrote a check for anything. Unless it was a gift. (Weddings, graduations)

I write fewer and fewer checks these days as most of my bills are paid online, or with credit cards when I can get away with it. Realize that it costs the merchant money to accept a credit card.

I just purchased a very expensive bike and I wrote a check for it. Why? Because my LBS gave me a 2% discount to pay in cash instead of via credit card. Rather than bring them thousands of dollars in cash, I was willing to bring them a cashier's check. They said a personal check was OK.

So, I saved $250 by writing my check.

Convert your S&H Green Stamps into Roubles, then pay in Roubles. Gold Bond stamps work also, exchange rate is slightly less. I think we’re at 2 Green Stamps per 7 Roubles.

Confederate dollars are also good.