DOVER, Del. (AP) - Delaware's finance secretary says more vendors doing business with the state are accepting electronic payment, rather than written checks.
That's a good thing, given that Secretary Tom Cook told the legislature's budget-writing committee Monday that the cost of processing, approving and mailing a single payment by check can be as high as $100.
That's according to a state auditor's estimate from several years ago, but officials say it remains valid.
Rep. Joe Miro, a Newark Republican, said there needs to be more discussion about what he called the "astronomical amount" it costs for the state to cut a check.
Finance officials say 1,400 vendors have moved from checks to electronic payment since 2009, with the number of checks issued declining by more than 40 percent, to about 182,400 last year.