If you typically receive direct deposit payments and you get a paper check, you may be wondering how to best retrieve your money without paying a hefty fee. After all, with the rise of online banking and fewer physical bank branches, knowing how and where to deposit a check, especially if you don’t have an account, can present a challenge.
While the easiest way to deposit or cash a check is through a bank or credit union, there are plenty of alternative options to consider. With that in mind, read on to discover the most efficient way to cash a check.
[Read: 5 Banking Blunders You Don’t Want to Make.]
Go to your local bank or credit union. If you have an account, and you’re located near a physical branch, you can cash your check through a teller or your bank’s ATM. However, keep in mind you may not be able to receive the full amount of the check immediately, depending on your financial institution’s policy. Generally, the first $200 will be available immediately, while the rest of the funds are held until the next business day. If the check is over $5,000, you may find the rest of that money is held for up to 10 business days. You’ll also want to endorse the check by signing your name on the back, and you may be required to fill out a deposit slip. Also, make sure you bring a valid form of identification such as a driver’s license or other government ID.
If you aren’t near a bank branch, you still may have other options. “For those with bank accounts who don’t have access to their bank branch, they could use their bank’s app, take a photo of the check and deposit it into their account,” says Crystal Wright, director of public relations for Cardtronics, an ATM operator for financial institutions and retailers. Wright also suggests looking to see if your bank has an ATM where you can deposit the check. You’ll also want to find an ATM that belongs to your bank or its ATM network to avoid paying a fee to deposit your money into your account. If you visit an out-of-network ATM, you may not be able to make a deposit, or you may find that your funds are held for several business days. For instance, if you deposit a check at PNC Bank and you don’t have a PNC bank account, your funds will be held for four business days.
Take your check to your friend or family member’s bank or credit union. If you don’t have a bank account, or you’re far from a physical bank and can’t use an app to make a deposit, consider tapping a trusted friend or relative, advises Rosemary Frank, a financial advisor at Rosemary Frank Financial LLC in Brentwood, Tennessee. “For immediate cash at no expense, let a trusted friend, who does have an account, cash it for you,” she says. “Simply endorse it with your name and the additional statement, ‘Pay to the order of’ — and insert your friend’s name. The friend can then cash it or deposit it to their account.”
The only snag: If you need to access the money quickly, the regulations pertaining to deposits apply to your pal cashing the check as well, so your friend may not have access to more than $200 of that money until the next business day.
Go to the bank or credit union that issued the check. “Whether you have a bank account or not, you can go to the bank that issued the check and cash it there,” Wright says. As long as the funds are available, chances are, you can retrieve the money immediately. However, all banks impose different rules.
There’s another compelling reason to go to the bank or credit union that issued the check. If you’ve received an inauthentic or fake check, or the funds aren’t there, the bank will likely discover that you’re dealing with a forgery quickly. If you suspect that the check will bounce, your safest bet to get your money and verify that it’s a real check is to go to the issuer’s bank.
[Read: How to Switch Banks: A Step-by-Step Guide.]
Go to a supermarket or convenience store. If you need to cash a check quickly and you’re willing to pay a fee, rather than cashing a check at your own bank or credit union or the check issuer’s bank, consider going to a supermarket or convenience store. Typically, at a supermarket, big-box chain or convenience store, you’ll pay less than $10 per check. Walmart has some of the lowest prices in the industry at $4 for checks up to $1,000 and $8 for checks between $1,000 and $5,000. Meanwhile, at Kmart you can cash a payroll, tax refund or government check up to $2,000, or a two-party personal check up to $50 for $1 or less.
Get a prepaid debit card. While you’re at the supermarket or convenience store, you could pick up a prepaid debit card, download an app to a company like Netspend or Green Dot, and take some pictures of your check with your smartphone and deposit the money onto the card. The good news: You can access your money instantly. The bad news: These debit cards generally come with steep fees. For instance, Netspend will allow you to deposit your money onto the card for free, but every time you make a purchase with the card, you’ll spend $1 or $2, unless you go with a different plan, in which you’ll spend a monthly fee. Then there’s Ingo Money, which will let you deposit your check for $5 if the check is under $250 and for 2 percent of the amount if it’s over $250.
If you need cash instantly, it may be worth getting a prepaid debit card, but make sure to carefully review the fee plans and read the fine print first.
Stay away from payday loan stores. These businesses will cash your check, but it’s a smarter financial move to cash a check with your bank or credit union to sidestep fees. After all, you don’t want to find yourself paying $100 to cash a $1,000 check. Payday loan stores operate differently, depending on the company and the laws in each state, but generally, you’ll end up paying $15 or $20 to borrow $100. So if you borrow $500, you might pay back that $500 in two weeks, plus a $75 fee.
Avoid cashing a check on suspect websites and apps. While there are plenty of reputable and safe apps you can download, including your bank’s affiliated app, there are also online money services that advertise the convenience of getting your check cashed through them. Take a hard look at those services before using them.
[Read: 5 Unfair Banking Fees and How to Avoid Them.]
When cashing a check, the most important thing to remember is you’ve earned this money and it’s in your best interest to make smart moves to keep as much of it as possible instead of paying hefty and unnecessary fees. And if you don’t belong to a bank or credit union, consider opening an account to maximize savings and minimize fees in the long term.
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Where Can I Cash a Check? originally appeared on usnews.com
