By Joel Teo

All Rights Reserved 2005

The media has been telling people about how easy it is to get a payday loan where you can get an unsecured until your next payday. What most people do not realize until it is too late is that a payday loan is actually a very expensive form of credit. This article would therefore explain how payday loans work and why they can be very expensive for borrower.

Payday Loans are unsecured loans which charge high interest for short periods of lending. Many people seem to flock to them to tide over their credit card debts until their next payday thus name. Other names for payday loans include cash advance loans, check advance loans or deferred deposit check loans.

People haven't always written checks to buy goods and services. But you know that right? So how did people transfer money from one place to another in times of old?

In ancient times most popular form of money exchange was trade. However, some point along long line of history people started realizing they had a surplus of goods that was best stored somewhere other than their home.

During sixteenth century Amsterdam became a key global trading and shipping outlet. Within this area, many people started amassing cash. Rather than stashing this cash at home, some people had brilliant idea of depositing their money with safe keepers or cashiers for a fee.

Keeping their money in a central location allowed tradespeople to start writing notes to pay off debts owed to other people. Thus emerged idea of writing checks.

Where Did The Word Check Come From?

The word "check" did not emerge until later in 1800s. At this point in time cashiers started placing numbers on each of notes depositors wrote so they could better track notes coming into and out of station. Eventually a system was born and idea of writing checks and storing money in a "bank" caught on en' masse.

Checking Today

Today checking is as commonplace as going out to eat. Most people have at least one checking account, and many have more than one. It is not uncommon for business owners to work with several bankers and checking accounts.

Check writing is no longer a primitive process that involves handwriting notes on random pieces of paper. Checking and check writing is almost a rite of passage. It suggests that you have money (in theory anyway) or a means to make your way in world.

Types of Checks Available Today

Now that you are familiar with origins of check writing, you probably came here in search of some quality information about checks and checking. Today you have more choices than ever for checking. You can pay bills on traditional and boring bank checks, or you can buy checks that match your personality.