The former is what you're describing. The latter is where the bank takes the funds from you then itself guarantees the piece of paper. Much more like an arbitrarily denominated bit of cash often used in large transactions in the States when (1) a seller doesn't trust the buyer too much or (2) the seller wants the funds to clear more quickly.
Also, regular checks are great. There's something about having to physically take time to spend money via a goofy little ritual that makes it easier to save the stuff.
If there is so much distrust between buyer and seller,why hasnt western financial civilization in europe tanked by now?
I get cashier cheques aren't personal cheques but the underlying logic of why they exist is because of legacy reasons which are inefficient and reinforce bad behaviours.
There's apparently still some utility in them in parts of Europe. When I challenged it (I had to pay 80 EUR for the check!) I was told that a bank transfer could be reversed or canceled, and that Cashier's checks prevent that from happening.
I don't see this situation changing until the banks get together with the central bank and create a unified escrow system to replace Cashier's checks.
As of now, they don't see the benefits of changing to a new system outweighing the costs.
Then again, we also have an app (Swish) similar to venmo allowing you to instantly for free send money to a phone number.
They’re free to and from Fidelity accounts. I’d guess the same for Schwab accounts.
Wire transfers can happen almost immediately but typically cost $20-40 for one, or sometimes both, parties involved.
Wire transfers [1]. (For most business accounts, wire transfers are also free.)
I never had a cheque book, but I have a faint memory of my parents using cheques back in the 1970s :-)
Almost everything wrong with consumer banking in america is contained, or stems from the ability to refer to cheque as a neccessary and normal thing in modern day finance.
I tore up my last cheque book ten years ago, I have had to resort to Western Union three times now (once a year) to send money to Her Majesties Customs and Excise for my UK pension topup, its the only thing I still do that way, and if the UK stopped using a closed-loop domestic clearing house and opened up SWIFT I'd do this via the IBAN immediately.
Cheques are cool. They're also horrendously stone age and the "yes but..." are the collected history of insanity that is american banking.
Jimmy Stewart, holding the fort at the friendly credit union on christmas day...