I'm mid 40s and didn't get a credit card until I was 25. And I couldn't even pay for any utilities, rent or car payments with it. And still can't. Online bill pay wasn't a thing until like after the recession.

[–] SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works 6 points 6 months ago

It's mainly in the USA it seems. In South Africa, we have had internet banking since 1995. So businesses stopped using checks around that time. Phone banking with DTMF was popular around that time as well. Bank transfers we used more than checks for businesses before then.

For individuals, debit cards became the default around the same time. Same functionality as a credit card, without the credit.

Then Internet banking became mainstream for individuals around the 2000s when everyone got access to the internet on their phones.

Cash remained popular throughout since ATM infrastructure was very good in South Africa.

[–] vzq@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 6 months ago

Not homeless, just Northern European.