AS TECHNOLOGY IMPROVES, MORE CUSTOMERS OPT FOR ELECTRONIC BANKING

Electronic banking is on the rise in today's society. More and more pay checks are being deposited directly into financial institutions, ATM cards are in wide use, and very soon debit cards may begin phasing out checks.

The trend toward high-tech banking is due to more than just the fact that technology is available. Automatic deposits of pay checks and electronic transfers are more efficient and cost effective both for businesses and financial institutions.

Another factor in the increasing trend is that people are becoming more accustomed to the technology and are beginning to trust it. People are starting to get used to not receiving a pay check and are trusting that the funds are deposited and available for their use on time.

But while the trend is definitely toward less paper, the likelihood of a checkless and cashless society is still probably years away.

"People thought a long time ago that by about this time we would have a checkless society, but there are more paper checks than ever now floating through the system," said Pat Ferrell, senior vice president of Boatmen's Bank of Cape Girardeau.

"I think there is renewed hope from the financial institutions that we will move that way because handling all those checks is expensive. But from the consumer's point of view, many of them still want checks."

Ferrell said that while there is a fear of electronic banking by some people a generation is now growing up that is used to electronic banking and more apt to use it.

Some older people are also starting to accept modern banking techniques, possibly because the Social Security Administration now direct deposits most of the checks it issues.

One advantage of a debit card to a business is that there are no bad checks to try to collect. The money is withdrawn immediately from an account, so if the account does not have enough funds to cover the purchase the transaction can be stopped.

That trend toward instant debits concerns some people who rely on the "float" by writing checks they expect to have covered before they are processed by their bank.

But Ferrell said electronic banking procedures are improving to the point where there is less opportunity to float checks.

"There is not as much float as it used to be. It is to a bank's advantage to clear checks as fast as possible, and they are finding ways to clear those checks a lot faster," said Ferrell.

And, even though some people are more comfortable with checks they can see, electronic banking is stating to take over.

Said Ferrell, "You may write a check, but it may be handled electronically once it hits the payment system."

In this area many merchants are not set up to handle debit cards, but it is only a matter of time before that technology becomes readily available, predicted Ferrell.

Over the last few years, small-business employers have started seeing the advantages of making direct deposit available for their employees and are either implementing it or seeking information.

"It is money-saving for businesses because it is costly to print checks, and you have to have an employee to sort through all the checks when they come back," said Ferrell. "This is definitely easier and more economical."

Another advantage of modern banking techniques is that when people have problems with their bank accounts, tracing those problems is much easier electronically,rather than sorting through paper.

ATM cards continue to increase in popularity among customers of all banks. Boatmen's handles about 36,000 transactions each month at its automatic teller machines.