Local Check Cashing Centers Services and Fees | Check Cashing Store

Posted by Banks on May 18, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Local Check Cashing Centers Services And Fees

Are you a part of the large portion of the population (millions actually) that currently don’t have a bank account. Now that may be by personal choice, but the reality is that most likely you simply can’t open a bank account. There are two companies, Telecheck and ChexSystems, that work with the financial institutions out there to provide them with information so they can decide who they want as clients.

These companies compile information and make it available to the financial institutions. Chexsystems mostly handles what happens within the financial institutions (like clients who don’t pay their overdrafts), while Telecheck typically tracks transactions that happen at other locations (validating checks for businesses that wish to offer this convenience to their clients).
If you end up on either one of those companies’ black lists, there’s a good chance that your current bank will kindly ask you to bring your business elsewhere. Not only that, since an estimated 80-90 percent of banks out there use the services of these companies, you will find yourself unable to open a bank account at roughly 4 banks out of 5. And it’s not like this situation is an easy fix; it’s notoriously hard to get out of Chexsystems. So what do you do?

Well the solution (actually ONE of the solutions) is to find a local check cashing store where you will find almost all the services that you might need at a regular bank or credit union. The biggest drawbacks are that:

It’s going to cost you. Check cashing stores have to abide by state laws that specify the maximum amount they can charge you to cash a check. Cashing your paycheck at a typical check cashing store will cost you anywhere from about 2 percent (in New York) to up to 5 percent (in Florida). Now that’s a very good margin and its profit potential has attracted the big boys: certain chain grocery stores, including Wal-Mart, you may be able to take advantage of check-cashing fees as low as $3 per check. They make it up in volume, but mostly they use it as a way to sell you more products on the back-end, since they typically require that you sign up for a check cashing membership.
It’s not as convenient as a bank account. You have to go to the store to cash your check and/or buy money orders; you have to go to the post office to mail your bill payments; you have to walk out of the store with cash on you… Even if you get one of the many prepaid debit cards offered by the check cashing stores, you still have to find a location to recharge them (unless you set up direct deposit of your paycheck on the card). Nevertheless, they charge certain fees, which brings us back to the first point.

Maximum Check Cashing Amount

There doesn’t seem to be a legal limit to how big a check a check cashing store will cash. Some institutions do place a limit, though. Walmart’s limit is $5,000, and so is KeyBank’s. Your-Exchange, based in Minnesota, will cash checks up to $10,000.

Besides that, at almost all other check cashing institutions, it seems to be a matter of 1) having someone with a high enough cashing limit who can authorize the transaction after verifying the check, and 2) how much cash is available on hand to actually pay you.

In any case, depending on the amount of the check, you might have to give additional information because of various filing requirements with the federal government.

Other Check Cashing Store Services

People who are very responsible individuals have been totally blindsided by the current economic downturn. They have been unable to stay afloat and have overdrawn their accounts or had bounced checks. Those are the people who can benefit from the various non-Chexsystems options offered at check cashing stores, which we have reviewed:

While some people totally deserve ending up on the financial institutions’ “bad side”, some others just have been unlucky. Those are the people who need checking account alternatives so they can go on with their financial lives. For decades, people without bank accounts have relied on check cashing stores to gain access to their money. This is unlikely to change significantly and there are check cashing centers throughout the United States that are happy to help you handle your financial transactions, for a fee.