50th: Unforgettable Moments — The Odd and Memorable

Back then, it was envisioned that the little woman would make her purchase, and an automatic bank transfer would take place, with the change in the account balance reflected immediately. She wouldn’t have to worry her pretty little head about licking stamps and mailing letters.

Well, in 1988 we confidently pointed out that 97 percent of Americans own checking accounts and, quoting John H. Harland Co. statistics, noted that Americans write more than 45 billion checks each year, or 1,400 checks per second.