Certegy is a third-party check verification service used by many stores to authenticate a check before it’s cashed. Unfortunately, there are occasions when Certegy may reject a perfectly valid check, which means the store will be unable to cash it. It can also be difficult to get your name cleared through Certegy once you’ve had a check rejected by the system. Our related research has more information about Certegy’s check verification process.
Fortunately, not all stores that cash checks use Certegy, so you still have plenty of check cashing options. We list these places below, as well as the places that do use Certegy, so you’re not left wondering.
Table of Contents
Comparison Table
See the table below for a brief comparison of the places that don’t use Certegy, then click any business or scroll for more details.
Store | Type | Checks Cashed |
---|---|---|
PLS Check Cashing | Check cashing store | Personal, government, out-of-state, and payroll checks |
Check Into Cash | Check cashing store | Cashier's checks, government checks, insurance drafts or checks, loans, payroll, personal checks, and tax refunds |
Speedy Cash | Check cashing store | Personal, payroll, government, insurance, tax refund, money orders, and cashier’s checks |
Advance Financial | Check cashing store | Payroll, personal, government, and insurance checks |
Community Financial Service Center | Check cashing store | Business checks, employer bonuses, government checks, insurance, payroll, personal, settlements, Social Security, tax refunds, veteran's benefits, and unemployment checks |
The Check Cashing Store | Check cashing store | Personal, payroll, government, insurance, small business, money orders, and tax refunds |
Pay-O-Matic | Check cashing store | Business, government, insurance settlements, loans, payroll, tax refunds, and union checks |
Giant Food | Grocery store | Personal, payroll, and government checks |
Stop & Shop | Grocery store | Payroll and government checks |
Giant Eagle | Grocery store | Payroll and government checks |
Hannaford | Grocery store | Payroll, government, and pension checks considered “regular income” |
Vons | Grocery store | Payroll and government checks |
IGA | Grocery store | Payroll and government checks |
Food 4 Less | Grocery store | Personal checks |
WinCo | Grocery store | Payroll checks |
BJ's Wholesale Club | Wholesale club | Personal checks |
CVS | Pharmacy | N/A |
Dollar Tree | Convenience store | N/A |
Family Dollar | Convenience store | N/A |
The Home Depot | Retail | N/A |
Stores That Don’t Use Certegy
The following stores don’t use Certegy to verify checks, so you can cash a check without going through the Certegy verification process. We’ve organized the list by store type, and each category is ordered starting with the best overall options.
Check Cashing Stores
Instead of using Certegy, the following check cashing stores require a valid photo ID to cash checks, and for personal checks, they will typically call the issuing bank to ensure that the funds are available.
1. PLS Check Cashing
- Requirements: Valid, government-issued photo ID[1]
- Types of checks cashed: Personal, government, out-of-state, and payroll checks[1]
- Find a PLS Check Cashing
2. Check Into Cash
- Requirements: Valid, government-issued photo ID[2]
- Types of checks cashed: Cashier’s checks, government checks, insurance drafts or checks, loans, payroll, personal checks, and tax refunds[2]
- Find a Check Into Cash
3. Speedy Cash
- Requirements: Valid, government-issued photo ID[3]
- Types of checks cashed: Personal, payroll, government, insurance, tax refund, money orders, and cashier’s checks[3]
- Find a Speedy Cash
4. Advance Financial
- Requirements: Valid, government-issued photo ID[4]
- Types of checks cashed: Payroll, personal, government, and insurance checks[4]
- Find an Advance Financial
5. Community Financial Service Center (CFSC)
- Requirements: Valid, government-issued photo ID[5]
- Types of checks cashed: Business checks, employer bonuses, government checks, insurance, payroll, personal, settlements, Social Security, tax refunds, veteran’s benefits, and unemployment checks[5]
- Find a CFSC
6. The Check Cashing Store (Florida)
- Requirements: Two forms of ID, including at least one valid, government-issued photo ID[6]
- Types of checks cashed: Personal, payroll, government, insurance, small business, money orders, and tax refunds[6]
- Find a Check Cashing Store
7. Pay-O-Matic (New York)
- Requirements: Valid, government-issued photo ID[7]
- Types of checks cashed: Business, government, insurance settlements, loans, payroll, tax refunds, and union checks[7]
- Find a Pay-O-Matic
Grocery Stores
It’s common for grocery stores to use either Certegy or TeleCheck to verify checks. While TeleCheck is also a third-party verification system similar to Certegy, the two services maintain separate records of declined checks. This means a check that is declined by Certegy’s system may not be declined by TeleCheck, and vice versa. Therefore, some of the grocery stores on this list may use Telecheck instead of Certegy.
1. Giant Food
- Requirements: You must apply for a Payroll and Business Check Cashing card in your local store to activate check cashing privileges. All checks are verified with TeleCheck before the store will cash them. If TeleCheck does not recognize you, you will be asked to present a driver’s license, state-issued ID, or military ID.[8]
- Types of checks cashed: Personal, payroll, and government checks[8]
- Find a Giant Food
2. Stop & Shop
- Requirements: Government-issued photo ID. You must also apply for a Payroll and Business Check Cashing card at any Stop & Shop location. All checks are verified with TeleCheck before the store will cash them.[9]
- Types of checks cashed: Payroll and government checks[9]
- Find a Stop & Shop
3. Giant Eagle
- Requirements: Must have a Giant Eagle Advantage card with check cashing privileges. Apply for the card at the customer service desk with your valid government-issued, photo ID. Approval takes up to 48 hours.[10]
- Types of checks cashed: Payroll and government checks[10]
- Find a Giant Eagle
4. Hannaford
- Requirements: Must present valid government-issued, photo ID with your check[11]
- Types of checks cashed: Payroll, government, and pension checks considered “regular income”[11]
- Find a Hannaford
5. Vons
Note: While Vons does not use check acceptance services, the chain’s parent store, Albertsons, does use Certegy.[12]
- Requirements: Must present a valid, government-issued photo ID to use checks[13]
- Types of checks cashed: Printed payroll and government checks (as previously reported)
- Find a Vons
6. IGA
- Requirements: Must present a valid, government-issued, photo ID with your check (individual store’s check policies may vary)[14]
- Types of checks cashed: Payroll and government checks (may vary by location)[15]
- Find an IGA
7. Food 4 Less
- Requirements: Must present valid, government-issued, photo ID with the check[16]
- Types of checks cashed: Personal checks[16]
- Find a Food 4 Less
8. WinCo
- Requirements: Must present a valid government-issued, photo ID to cash a check[17]
- Types of checks cashed: Payroll checks[17]
- Find a WinCo
9. BJ’s Wholesale Club
- Requirements: Must be a BJ’s member; must present a valid government-issued, photo ID with the check[18]
- Types of checks cashed: Personal checks[18]
- Find a BJ’s
Other Stores
The following stores do not offer check cashing services, but they do accept checks for payment and give small amounts of cash back on personal checks. These stores use TeleCheck rather than Certegy to verify personal checks used for purchases:
- CVS[19]
- Dollar Tree[20]
- Family Dollar[21]
- The Home Depot (as previously reported)
Stores That Use Certegy
In the course of our research, we found a number of stores that do use Certegy to verify checks. We confirmed this information with customer service representatives from each establishment:
- ACE Cash Express
- Check ’n Go
- Money Mart
- United Check Cashing
- Albertsons
- Costco
- Food Lion
- Harris Teeter
- King Soopers
- Kroger
- Piggly Wiggly
- Publix
- Safeway
- Shaw’s
- Winn-Dixie
- Big Lots
- Dollar General
- Kmart
- Sears
- Target
- Walmart (a few locations use TeleCheck instead of Certegy)
- Rite Aid
- Walgreens
- Bed Bath & Beyond
- Best Buy
- Lowe’s
- Staples