Does Walmart Cash Personal Checks?
Walmart will cash personal checks up to $200, but they need to be printed and can't be handwritten.
QUICK SUMMARY
In this day and age of online banking, it can get a little confusing about which places will do what when it comes to money. This has many asking, does Walmart cash personal checks? Seeing as how Walmart is one of the biggest retailers in the world, it’s no secret that they do a lot more than just sell goods. The store has expanded into so many more walks of life and in many places has become something of a hub for just the basics of the day-to-day.
Whether it’s the store’s famous rollback sales on items, the many surprising things through EBT you can buy there, or their everyday low prices, Walmart has become synonymous with all things retail and beyond. Part of their goal seems to have been to make their number of stores in the US ubiquitous with day-to-day life in general. They want “everything” to happen at Walmart.
That’s what happens with a brand that has thousands of stores spread throughout the world. And sometimes, when people go to Walmart, they even want to get some basic banking done. So, does Walmart cash personal checks and are there rules, regulations, or fees around this practice?
Here we will break down some of the ins and out when it comes to asking: does Walmart cash personal checks? And there are definitely things to consider and know before heading to the store with a check.
WALMART CASHES PERSONAL CHECKS, BUT ONLY CERTAIN KINDS
On a high level, the answer to the question, “Does Walmart cash personal checks” is a yes. The store will handle this for customers in a broad sense. But there are stipulations around the cashing of personal checks that you will want to be aware of to avoid frustration.
For starters, personal checks can be made out to you, but they need to be printed. Handwritten checks (think those ones you get from grandma) aren’t going to fly at Walmart.
There are reasons for this which make sense from the store’s perspective. According to the official Walmart policy, printed checks have a much lower chance of being fake or forged. The company is trying to reduce the incidents of fraud or the attempts to cash bogus checks, so they insist on personal checks being preprinted.
Apparently, these types of personal checks are much easier to verify, checking to make sure the account in question has sufficient funds. With hand-written checks, those just ripped out of the standard checkbook or bank book, it’s a much heavier lift. They are more open to fraud and have a higher chance of bouncing when Walmart goes to deposit them.
THERE IS A $200 LIMIT ON PERSONAL CHECKS AT WALMART
Even if you have a preprinted personal check and want it cashed at Walmart, know that there is also a limit to the dollar amount for the transaction. Namely, the store will only cash personal checks up to $200.
The reason for this is pretty simple. Unlike other forms of checks that are out there (which we will get to in a moment), even printed personal checks are still open for forgery or fraud. Walmart, in this way, is trying to limit its risk by cashing these.
So with that in mind, they keep the dollar amount under $200 to ensure that massive personal checks aren’t cashed with insufficient funds, leaving Walmart to hold the bag.
In terms of other, more verifiable checks, Walmart has a limit of $5,000 on those types. This is because checks that come from other sources (not party-to-party, or personal checks) are less open to fraud. Therefore, the limit is increased on that type of check at the retailer.
WALMART HAS FEES FOR CASHING PERSONAL CHECKS
It’s also good to know that there are other differences between cashing a personal (or any) check at Walmart and cashing the same thing at a banking institution. Unlike brick-and-mortar (or even online) banks, Walmart will charge a fee for the service.
According to their website and terms and conditions, Walmart has a different fee structure depending on the type of check. For personal checks, there is a max $6 fee for checks up to $200. So if the check is for $200, that would represent a three percent fee on checks that amount. They don’t specify whether that percentage is across the board or scaled, but it stands to reason it is across the board.
Meanwhile, on other types of checks, Walmart has a max $4 fee for checks up to $1,000. And after that, there is a max $8 fee on checks up to $2,000. This is Walmart’s cost of doing business and is in line with others or lower than some other check-cashing institutions that aren’t standard banks.
PAYROLL, GOVERNMENT, AND TAX REFUND CHECKS CAN BE CASHED
It isn’t just personal checks that Walmart will cash. In terms of getting money in the form of cash, Walmart will also handle government checks, tax checks (it’s tax refund season folks), cashier’s checks, payroll checks, insurance checks, and MoneyGram orders. The latter is a type of money order that works at Walmart.
These forms of checks at Walmart are a bit on the “safer” side when it comes to the risk for the retailer.
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Does Walmart cash personal checks? Yes, they do. But it’s important to know the rules and fees before going in. For certain kinds, other institutions like banks or check-cashing outfits are going to be a better fit when it comes to getting your money.
