Where Can I Cash a Check Without a Bank Account

A check is a document instructing a bank to withdraw money from the writer of the check to the account of the person whose name is on the check. It is a form of transferring money from one account to another. The person writing the check is the drawer. He or she has a bank account, which is usually a checking account. However, it is not a must for the receiver of the money to have a bank account. But where can I cash a check without a bank account?

If you are wondering where you can cash a check and do not have a bank account, then relax as you are going to learn how to do it later in this article. There are millions of people in the world today, receiving money from their employers, friends, and relatives in the form of checks. Some are not aware of how you should go about getting the real money that you can use for your daily financial needs. Once you deposit the check for cash, you can wait for some time.

If you are an employer, getting a checking account so that you can pay your employees is one of the beneficial things you can do as a boss. A checking account is just an account you can withdraw cash any time you want. Checking accounts are important for emergency issues and can be very convenient for various financial needs such as school fees, hospital bills, and rent, among other necessities. You can acquire a free online checking account with no opening deposit at any bank of your choice.

Why is a checking account necessary?

Various kinds of accounts exist with banks. There are brokerage accounts, saving accounts, money-market accounts, and checking accounts. Today, we are putting our emphasis on checking accounts. There are various ways on how a checking account is useful to your daily financial needs.

i) You can withdraw money.

First of all, a checking account allows you to withdraw money anytime for your use. There are no restrictions on when you can withdraw your money. You can withdraw cash over the counter or use your ATM. However, you may get limitations on the amount you should withdraw per day.

ii) Send money

Secondly, you can send money from a checking account instantly to your loved ones and friends using a checking account. You can transfer money from your account to someone’s account in a different bank using both the account numbers of the recipient and the routing number of the receiving bank. Again, if you link your account with PayPal, you can still send money to other PayPal accounts.

iii) Do online shopping

If you own a checking account, then you can shop online at stores such as Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Alibaba, and AliExpress, among others. When checking out, you just provide your card number associated with your checking account, and you are good to go.

Again, if you have a PayPal account, you can link your checking account with PayPal and buy goods from various sellers since PayPal is a trusted online means of payment.

iv) Save money

Even though checking accounts do not earn any interest, you can use it to receive your money for the near future. Some banks can allow you to earn interest, which is usually small as compared to savings accounts.

Can you get a credit card for your checking account?

You can get a credit card to use along with your checking account. A checking account is one of the basic requirements before getting a credit card. It does not matter your credit score to get a credit card. Some institutions can give you instant credit card approval for bad credit no deposit to help you increase your credit score.

Every time you make payments with your credit card, your checking account debt increases, of which you should pay the money at the end of the month. Apart from a credit card, you can also utilize a debit card to operate your checking account.

Credit cards have expiry dates. Most credit cards expire after three years of usage. However, some may even go for more years.

Are checks always secured?

Checks are not 100% secure. There are occasions where fraud occurred via the use of checks whereby criminals attempted to steal money from the drawer or the bank or have even succeeded in doing so. Banks have introduced mechanisms to prevent crime, one of them including crossing a check so that it becomes difficult to reuse it.

However, there have been incidences where forgery has in the recent past taken place. Some criminals can present forged checks after accessing the drawer’s checkbooks and mastering the drawer’s signature. Moreover, altering digits to increase the amount to withdraw has been another challenge.

Again, checks have allowed embezzlement of funds by some criminal elements who pretend to pay others via check only for you to realize that they do not have money in their account. The fact that checks take several days to mature makes fraudsters run away with a merchant’s items after pretending to pay by check.

Another challenge with checks has been identity theft. Some criminals can steal the drawer’s details, such as the identity number or the license number, and write checks to withdraw money without the knowledge of the bank account owner.

How long does a check take to yield cash?

You will not get money the same day you deposit the check. Checks can take 2-3 business days to clear. After this, it may take more days for the bank to receive funds, mostly five days. The time taken for a check to mature depends on your relationship with the bank, the amount of money to draw, and the standing of your account.

Your check may go on hold upon depositing it if the drawer’s account has insufficient funds, or the account is inactive due to specific reasons. Young accounts may also face delays until the bank feels that you have solidified your relationship with them.

Moreover, if it is the first time to pay the person via check, the bank may also hold for some time to try to verify the authenticity of the check more so if the amount involved is large. Banks will always send back bouncing checks to the payer.

How do you deposit a check with a bank?

If you have a bank account and would like to deposit a check and get some of the amount or all the amount, then you need to know the procedure of depositing the cheque. For a successful deposit of a cheque, follow the following procedures.

i. Fill out a deposit slip

A deposit slip is a kind of paper with blank spaces where you need to fill in your details precisely. Ask the bank teller, and he or she will give you one. In the slip, you should fill in the account number you are depositing the check to, write the date, fill in your name and address.

Next, fill the amount of money in the check you are depositing. If you need cash, you can fill in the amount you need and the amount to deposit.

ii. Endorse your check

Upon depositing the check, endorse it. You just flip the backside of the check to do the endorsement. It involves singing the check. Ensure that you do not endorse the check before you deposit as you may accidentally lose it, and a thief collects and cashes it out.

iii. Hand over the check and deposit slip to the teller

Once you finish filling all the details, and then give the teller the check and the deposit slip. You will have to provide your ID and a passport size photo if you need some cash out of the amount in the check.

Upon getting the requested money as well as your ID, then you are done. You may visit another day to withdraw the remaining amount if the need arises.

Where Can I Cash a Check Without a Bank Account?

There are several places where you can cash out money in a check when you do not have a bank account. These include the following.

1. The check issuing bank

You can visit the bank that issued the check as it is easier if the check belongs to the bank. You might incur a check processing fee if you are not a customer of that bank. Banks like TD Bank charge $7 for any customer who deposits a check and is a customer of TD Bank. The fee varies from one bank to the other. Some banks, such as Citibank, do not charge fees for checks under $5000.

Some banks charge non-customers a certain percentage of the money in the check. The Fifth Third Bank charges non-customers 1% of the amount of money in the check. The minimum amount the Fifth Third Bank can charge is $4, and the maximum is $25.

There are many incidences where banks will persuade non-customers to open a bank account with them so that they can deposit your money in that account. You can open a bank account with no deposit required on such occasions as the bank wants to make some profit out of your money.

2. Visit a Payday Lending Store

A payday lending store not only gives payday loans but also can provide you with cash if you have a check. However, the stores may be expensive as compared to banks. Although they are convenient, most of them have a flat fee in checks, plus a certain percentage of the money written in the check.

If you are cashing a large amount of money, you end up paying a lot of money. Generally speaking, payday lending stores are expensive as compared to banks. The only advantage with them is that they are fast to give you the money.

3. Visit a Retailer

There are various retailers, such as supermarkets and chain stores, which are always ready to give cash over genuine checks. Most retailers are cheaper as compared to banks and payday lending stores as they charge less.

An excellent example of such retailers is Walmart. If you don’t have an account, take your check to Walmart, and you will never regret the move. Walmart will charge you $4 for all printed checks up to $1,000.

Moreover, the retailer will charge you up to $8 for printed checks between $1,000.01 and $5,000. You can see there are no multiple charges, such as a flat fee and a percentage fee.

4. Get a Payroll Debit Card

If you are employed, you can get a payroll debit card whereby you can load your check payments into the card. Various issuers are ready to give you a payroll debit card. Companies such as Walmart, Walgreens, and Taco Bell offer payroll debit cards.

Unfortunately, payroll debit cards have challenges. You may incur a lot of fees if you do not use the card frequently. Moreover, you may incur charges when transferring money to another account. Again costs continue when you use the card with an ATM.

5. Prepaid Card Account

Banks and other financial institutions are offering prepaid cards that you can use to load cash from a check. Prepaid cards are cheaper to use as compared to payroll debit cards. Furthermore, you do not need to have a bank account to have a prepaid card.

Chase Bank offers a prepaid card which you can use to receive funds from a check. They usually charge a monthly fee of $4.95. Ingo Money also gives prepaid cards to customers whereby you can manage the card easily by downloading the Ingo Money app.

Take photographs of checks and upload them to deposit electronically and pay a standard fee of 2% on the amount on the check. There is also a 1%-4% fee. Again, there is a minimum fee of $5 per transaction. However, if you choose to wait for ten days for the check to mature, you pay zero fees.

6. Checkless Overdraft-Free Debit Card Account

A Checkless Overdraft-Free Debit Card Account is suitable if banks have blacklisted you in the previous days. Some examples of these accounts include KeyBank’s Hassle-Free Account and Citibank’s Access Account. You can quickly deposit a check with your smartphone. Moreover, anybody can get a Checkless Overdraft-Free Debit Card.

7. Credit Unions

The available credit unions can offer you a chance to open a free checking account. It is possible if you have a challenging credit history to the extent that even banks with free checking accounts with no deposit cannot allow you to open a bank account. You can get a second chance checking account with credit unions whereby you can cash your check.

Read our related article, Can I Cash a Check On Cash App? Here’s what you need to know!

Bottom Line

Check payment is one of the easiest ways you can use to pay for goods and services. However, you need to be very careful with the usage to prevent fraud. Understand that someone can alter details in the check you write if you are not cautious about how you fill in the check.

Close the check in that no one can add figures. Managing checks online over a smartphone is much more comfortable and safer than manually depositing them in the bank.