Preface: I saw a set of wrenches on the classifieds on ch3 this morning and decided they were something I'd buy, so I messaged the seller stating I'd like to buy them (more than $500) and asking how would he like to be paid since he hadn't stated a preference. I suggested a USPS money order or paypal. He promptly replied he'd only accept zelle or venmo. I replied I had neither of those services and restated I'd prefer a money order because I feel they offer the convenience of cash combined with a low fee and reasonable security. No dice. I wished him good luck with the sale and moved on with my life.
I see people wanting to use zelle and venmo more and more often these days, and I flat out refuse to use either of them. In the last 3 years, I've had five fraudulent transactions through my US Bank acct that showed up as transactions through these services. They seem like scam central to me and way too easy to be commandeered by unsavory characters. Having to change card and account numbers after these scam charges is a hassle I'd like to avoid as much as possible.
Paypal is a touchy subject these days, and I feel myself trying to distance myself from using them at all after their woke policies and attacks on anything related to firearms have come out. I have had funds frozen in there for no reason at all several times after ebay and private sales. That said, their custom service, resolution center, and convenience still appeal to me.
In the past few years, I have transitioned to considering USPS money orders to be the best option for private party payments over say $200. The only drawback I see is the few minutes it takes to purchase one. After that, it's a good as cash or a check that can't be stop paymented. Am I missing something?
In a perfect world we could go back to the days past of just mailing a check (as a small business, I receive 90% of payments for service by check without issue), but I understand that's not going to happen. I stand by my decision to avoid zelle or venmo, and wish payment middle-man services could be cut out entirely (I hate companies inserting themselves and skimming a fee). I feel we've gone full circle from the early days of credit cards when there were 50 different companies and a merchant may only take a select one, to near universal acceptance, now back to 50 different payment services with limited use. And I'm not even going to mention crypto. I guess this is an age old problem. /rant
TL;DR What do you use for E-Payments?
