William LipovskyYou can still pay with a personal check at grocery stores, department stores, and some specialized retailers. Below, we list more than 70 stores that will accept a personal check as payment.
Table of Contents
The List
Below is the list of retailers that accept personal checks, sorted by store type. Note that these stores only accept personal checks for in-store purchases unless otherwise noted. Also, keep in mind that you may be asked to show a government-issued photo ID (such as a driver’s license, state ID, or passport) to prove your identity when paying with a check.
Grocery
- Albertsons[1]
- Baker’s[2]
- City Market[2]
- Dillons[2]
- Food 4 Less[2]
- Food Lion[3]
- Fred Meyer[2]
- Fry’s Food Stores[2]
- Giant Eagle[4]
- Hannaford[5]
- Harris Teeter (in-store and ExpressLane purchases)[2][6]
- H-E-B (as previously reported)
- Jewel-Osco[7]
- King Soopers[2]
- Kroger (as previously reported)
- Marc’s[8]
- Meijer[9]
- Publix[10]
- QFC[2]
- Ralphs[2]
- Safeway[11]
- Save-A-Lot[12]
- Save Mart Supermarkets[13]
- Shaw’s[14]
- ShopRite[15]
- Smith’s Food and Drug[2]
- Tops Friendly Markets (as previously reported)
- Trader Joe’s[16]
- Wegmans[17]
- WinCo Foods[18]
- Winn-Dixie[19]
Wholesale Clubs & Superstores
Department Stores
- Burlington (formerly Burlington Coat Factory)[25]
- Dillard’s[26]
- JCPenney[27]
- Kmart[28]
- Kohl’s[29]
- Macy’s[30]
- Marshalls[31]
- Neiman Marcus[32]
- Nordstrom[33]
- Ross Dress for Less[34]
- Sears[35]
- T.J.Maxx[36]
Discount Stores
- Big Lots[37]
- Dollar General (as previously reported)
- Dollar Tree[38]
- Family Dollar[39]
Home Improvement Stores
- Ace Hardware (some locations; stores are independently operated)[40]
- The Home Depot (as previously reported)
- Lowe’s (as previously reported)
- Menards[41][42]
- Pacific Sales (inside of Best Buy and at individual showrooms)[43]
- Valu Home Centers[44]
Arts and Crafts
Beauty
- Ulta Beauty[47]
Books
- Barnes & Noble[48]
Electronics
Office Supplies
Pets
Pharmacies
Secondhand
- Goodwill (some locations; payment options vary by region)[55]
Sporting Goods
- Bass Pro Shops (in stores and by mail)[56]
- Cabela’s (in stores and by mail)[57]
- Champs Sports[58]
- Eastbay (in stores and by mail)[59]
- Gander Mountain (in stores and for orders placed by phone)[60]
Interested in online shopping options? See our list of shopping sites that take eChecks and personal checks.
Stores That Don’t Accept Personal Checks
In the course of our research, we found that the following stores don’t accept personal checks in stores or by mail:
Kait Scirri
Sonya Bateman
Erika Crawford
Cathy Desmet
Lindsey Desmet
Loren Eaton
Joseph Cho
Maria R. Riegger, Esq.
I know that Giant and Weis Markets in Maryland accept checks. (These companies appear to be regional and only operate in a few states.) In fact, some thief has successfully used my checking account information to purchase goods at a number of different Giant and Weis stores. The total amount attempted is $1,262.11 (13 attempts at 9 different locations).
NOTE: I am not missing any checks, so I’m not totally sure how the thief figured out my account number: probably he guessed.
My bank and/or TeleCheck declined most of the attempts. These stores do not ask for ID, so anyone with a good hunch can guess at the account number, create his own checks, and try to cash them. The check is run through a TeleCheck terminal and returned to the check writer. No proof of identity is needed to cash a check (so, it’s similar to using a debit card without a PIN). It’s treated as an ACH payment.
The check is not photographed, so there is NO RECORD and NO EVIDENCE of the crime. I have filed police reports, and Giant has had to reimburse my bank for their lax security. (There are cameras, though, in the ceilings, so my prayer is that this crook gets caught.)
Hi Sarally,
I am so sorry to hear about all your troubles! We only included the larger regional and national chains in our article, but as you said, smaller chains like Giant and Weis Markets will accept checks. I hope you find a resolution to this mess, and I hope they catch the person who did this!
I think you should distinguish between “purchasing” with echecks and “making a credit card payment” with echecks. Most of the stores that you list that take checks online, only take them when making a credit card payment, you cannot actually purchase with checks online. I have tried several of these stores and they only accept credit cards for payments when checking out.
Hi Christy,
This article is specifically about paying with a check in store, and not about echecks. Most stores will only take checks in store. We specified that some stores accept checks in-store only because those stores specifically said that in their published policies. We have a separate article for stores that accept checks online: Where to Shop Online and Pay with Checking Account Numbers Only.
What is Jewel-Osco’s check policy?
Hi Roxy,
We checked their website and then contacted their customer service department. We were unable to successfully speak with anyone in their customer service department, and their website did not detail their check writing policy. We will keep trying and keep you updated if were are able to find an answer.
I work for Petco we accept personal checks with I.D and phone number. I.D Number, expiration date and phone number need to be written on the check.
Hi Steve,
Thanks for this information! We will examine the Petco personal check policy and update the article accordingly.
Do the places that accept personal check do they give cash back
The “Stores that do not accept personal checks” section is a little misleading as some of this is based off of links that refer only to online purchase policies, not physical store policies which can often differ somewhat. For instance, the Nike link above, besides saying they don’t accept checks, it also says Nike doesn’t accept cash which I would find hard to believe in their physical stores, but makes more sense for online purchases.
Also, the Whole Foods link takes you to their delivery arm which as an online entity would make sense if they didn’t take checks, but am not seeing anything either for or against definitively stating their physical store locations do not accept a check. And found that their catering arm does accept checks which would lead me to believe that in their local stores, they are taking checks (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/service/catering-16)
Appreciate the effort to better define this, but feels like the best way to confirm this is to do some legwork and visit these stores physically,
Mike,
Thank you so much for bringing your concerns to our attention. I confirmed with Nike corporate headquarters that their store locations will indeed accept cash as a form of payment, but that their stores do not accept checks, and I’ve already updated the article accordingly. I’ve also added cash as a payment method for other stores where applicable. I’ve individually checked other stores on the list that don’t clearly state an in-store policy on their website to make sure their in-store policy is accurately reflected in the article.
I spoke to a representative of Whole Foods and they confirmed that they cannot accept personal checks as a method of payment.
We have just contacted every company listed in this article that doesn’t publish an in-store accepted payment methods page to confirm their in-store policies; of course, it is always possible that policies will vary by individual location, but we’ve done the legwork in terms of confirming the details for each individual company by contacting their corporate headquarters.
I appreciate your attention to accuracy, and I hope this helps!
Does car toys accept checks??
Hi J,
Car Toys’ physical store locations do generally accept checks. (It may be worth finding the phone number for your local store and verifying that this is the case at that location, just to be sure.) However, according to Car Toys customer support, the company does not accept checks for online orders. I hope this helps!
I’ve written a check at many of the locations that you have listed under “will not accept a check.” Home Depot, JCPenny, Petsmart, CVS, just to name a few. Personally I think it depends more on the area than the actual store as to their particular policy on checks.
Hi Bill,
Thanks for bringing this to our attention! Policies definitely can and do vary by individual store location. It seems that for some of the stores you mentioned, the policies cited in the article refer specifically to online purchases, and may not apply to in-store purchases. We’ll be reviewing the other stores listed in the article to verify accuracy and check for similar oversights. I apologize for any confusion that the article has caused and thanks again for writing in!
Hi Bill,
I wanted to let you know that we have re-assessed each individual store to be sure it’s in the correct category and updated the listings based on our new research. Of course, as you said, policies often vary by individual store location, but the revised version of the article is now a more accurate reflection of the general company policy with each of these stores. Again, thanks for writing in!
I worked at a Lowe’s store for a year and a half and we’ve accepted personal checks as long as we could check I’d and the names matched. May have just been my store but Lowe’s is very connected to corporate (in a good way) so I doubt it was just my store.
Hi Travis,
You’re absolutely right! I apologize for the ambiguity in the article. Lowe’s does not accept personal checks for online orders, but checks are accepted for in-store purchases. I reached out to Lowe’s customer support to confirm this and updated the article accordingly. Thanks for letting us know!
I used to work at both JoAnns Craft store and Toys R Us and I also shop at CVS. All 3 of these stores do accept personal checks.
Hi Ally,
I went ahead and made a note in the article to clarify that the published policy at those stores applies specifically to online orders, so customers may be able to pay by check for in-store purchases. Thank you for writing in and bringing that to our attention!
Does shoe department accept checks?
Hi Bella,
I couldn’t find any information on the Shoe Department website, but I went ahead and contacted the company and was advised that the stores do accept personal checks.
I use personal checks at giant eagle all the time (slippery rock, PA). As long as your store card matches the name on the check they’ll accept them
Hi Melissa,
Thank you for your comment! You’re are absolutely right and the post has been updated. We are deeply sorry for any confusion this has caused you or others.
Does any convenience store, “711” or other gas stations” accept checks?
Hi Malia,
Not many gas stations accept checks as payment but Meijer gas stations do accept checks. Use the location finder on the top right corner of this page to see if there’s a location near you.