Check

Before Paypal and Apple Pay, people needed a way to pay for stuff when they didn't want to carry around big stacks of cash. This prehistoric payment option was known as a "check." You might be able to see one in your grandma's purse, along with some Werther’s originals and a surprising number of pens.

A check consists of a piece of paper representing value you agree to have transferred from your bank account to someone else's account. There's a "payable to" line on the check (you can use one of those many, many pens in grandma's purse to fill it out)...that tells the bank what account to send money to. Your account information is typically printed directly on the check.

Checks also require a date and an amount, which is both written as a number and then spelled out in words (to avoid misreads or fraud). Then you sign the check and give it to the person you want to pay. They take it to their bank and the banks take care of the rest.