So I realized that I forgot to pay my car insurance bill on time. I called up "Triple A" (my insurance company) to pay the bill with them over the phone.

After waiting on hold for 10 minutes I reach an account agent that makes me verify every little thing about myself. I dont understand why that needs to be done if im trying to pay the bill. You dont need any identification at a bank to deposit money into an account.

After I give the lady on the phone everything but a DNA sample to identify myself, she tells me my balance, and I tell her that I would like to play it. She then informs me that the only way to pay the bill is via check!

First off its 2006 who uses checks? I think that checks are basically antiques. I do almost all of my banking electronically. I pay my bills online, I have direct deposit from my work into my bank, I buy stuff using paypal via my cell phone! I rarely carry cash, I use my debit card, for large purchases I use my credit card. Overall I rarely handle cash. I write one check a month, to my home owners association, because they are a bunch of old people who dont have any sort of electronic system set up for me to pay the monthly dues, and I hate it.

So yeah, Im talking to this lady on the phone and she is telling me that I can only pay by check. I dont carry my check book on me. Im at work, my check book is at home, locked up. How dumb and outdated is the payment system that AAA uses? I am trying to GIVE them my money. You think that they would have all sorts of channels available to for people who want to hand over their hard earned cash.

Maybe Im a minority in this situation, my parents and older people I know dont do any electronic banking. Im 26, fairly young. True I am a computer professional but I think that in the short future, as the "myspace" generation starts to get some more responsibilities and cash, out dated systems like this is have to change, or people will move to competitors.