The checking accounts we use today may very well become extinct in the not too distant future. Today, reloadable credit cards offer almost all of the tools that checking accounts offer except the ability to phyically write your own checks. As more and more payment options are available through electronic means, being able to write a check becomes less and less important.

It means a change for consumers - a change that kids today will adopt easily but one that might seem a little unusual for those of us who remember the days before debit cards existed.

There have been plenty of projections that one day our money will be managed in a completely virtual environment. What many people might not know is that capability is already available.

Reloadable credit cards, also called prepaid credit cards, are not really a credit card account at all. There is no credit approval process and there is no borrowed balance on the account. The money on the card is your own money.

Financial institutions offer these cards as an alternative to a checking account. Those who have been denied a checking account or have no checking account access can still use online tools and cards to manage their money, pay their bills, and buy the things they need.

How reloadable credit cards work is that you load money on to the card, either through direct deposit or by deposting money through retail outlets located all over the US. The money funds the card and the card can be used to make purchases like a regular debit or credit card. You can also access the account online and set up automatic or manual bill payment.

Through bill payment, just like all the large banks offer, you can set up a bill payment to any business or person. If you need to send a payment to your brother, for example, because he agreed to buy a joint present for your parents for their anniversary, you can direct the payment through your reloadable credit card's bill payment option.

You can also use the card at all regular point-of-sale locations that take debit and credit card transactions. As soon as the purchase is made, the amount of the purchase is deducted from your reloadable credit card balance.

If there is no available balance on the account, you cannot make any additional purchase. You can, however, reload the card with money to replenish the balance.

There are no required minimum balances and, therefore, no fees for falling below a certain balance. Overdraft fees are also significantly reduced as no charges can be made without the money first being available.

If you have direct deposit through your employer, you can simply direct your paycheck be loaded onto your reloadable credit card and your paycheck is then immediately available to you through your card.

As consumers, we have started to easily adapt to new technologies. We are enchanted with new computers, MP3 players, laptops, car accessories, and cell phones. Anything that has new entertainment value or makes our lives easier is fine with us.

Having no checking account should feel the same way, however, it seems we get a little more unsettled when it comes to changing how we manage our money. No checks? Why - how will I pay my bills? It takes us a bit to realize that we do not really need to use checks anyway. for almost any situation in which you need to write a check you could just as easily direct a payment from your online account, pay with a debit card or withdraw cash from an ATM.

Not being able to write a check is no inconvenience for me. I hate writing them anyway. I LOVE debit card transactions. Swipe and go. No fumbling for a pen, no having to write out figures the long way, and no hunting around for stamps I never seem to have. Go online, click a few buttons and pay my bills. It's so easy.

Photo © Daniel Wiedemann | Dreamstime

The other benefit of reloadable credit cards is that there is no credit check or ChexSystems check before you are approved.  You simply have to be able to prove your identity with a few basic pieces of information.  Since the bank is not lending you any money, they don't need a credit check and since there is no check writing capability, they do not need to check ChexSystems for your past checking account performance.

That seems to make a lot of sense.  If we have money that we want to manage in order to pay our bills and our regular household expenses and we have a job that provides us that money, why should we be limited in how we can manage that money based on past performance?