19 Check Cashing Places That Don't Use Certegy (Grocery Stores, etc)

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: