Why? So they could reduce their transaction costs and time. How long does it still take a cheque to clear? If not for crypto currency then they'd still be sitting on their wizard sleeved hands.
Reduce transaction costs? I bought some food today and paid with a $20 bill.
What was my transaction cost? How long did it take the transaction to confirm? How many parties were involved in confirming the transaction? Did I need to be connected to the Internet to do it?
Checks can clear absolutely instantly at banks. There is no need for blocks to be solved, confirmations from third parties or anything else. The reason they take some time to clear is not because of some wizard level problem. It is because a check is a piece of paper someone wrote some amount on.
The check writer may not have the money or the check may be forged, that's why it takes a while to clear. Why do people use checks? Because they are really easy to use, if you have a guy working on your plumbing, you can write him a check when he is done. The plumber doesn't need any kind of computer to accept the check and can just put it in his pocket. No merchant processors, no need to connect to the Internet, no bitcoin addresses, no confirmations.
With a U.S. bank, you have a whole host of options when you want to pay someone:
- paper check
- paper cashiers check from the bank account (funds are guaranteed)
- electronic transfer (including via email address or mobile phone number)
- recurring automatic electronic transfers
- wire transfer
- debit card (most have the money in the account, receiver needs merchant account)
- credit card (borrowed money, receiver needs merchant account)
Those are the most common. Banks have zero use for crypto currency, things work great as it is.