On October 28, law “Check 21” will officially begin. Some retailers have jumped the gun a bit on Check 21, the law that will essentially eliminate hard copies of checks. When you use a check at Wal-Mart, for example, they will run your check through a machine and hand it back to you. At that point, the money is automatically deducted from your account. Other companies are destroying checks right after they’ve been run through the system. These are premature versions of what will happen in October. At that time, companies will make digital copies of checks that will show up in your bank statement. But the physical check will be destroyed at the power company, credit card company or wherever it ends up. The digital images are called “check substitutes,” and they are considered as acceptable replacements for the original canceled check. Check 21 is going to save billions of dollars, but it will also eliminate a lot of jobs. The idea of a grace period after writing a check will also be a thing of the past. When you pay with a check, it will be automatic. Hopefully, people will stop using checks as a result and start using electronic bill pay systems. With everything going digital anyway, it will be much easier.