The thing with personal checks, is most people including me do not trust that it will not bounce back. This is because it is handwritten and can easily be replicated. You can hardly find a place outside of our banks, who will cash a personal check due to this reason.
Does this place include Walmart, my dear reader?
Walmart cashes two-party personal checks, but it does not cash a personal check. I do not know if you know what a two-party personal check, but it is a check made to two different people or entities. Although Walmart will cash your two-party personal check, there are strict restrictions on cashing this type of check. I will elaborate more on it later on this article.
For now, I want you to know Walmart will not cash a personal check made out to one person. There are other kind of checks which the retailer cashes. I would like you to know about them, just in case you decide to make a trip to the grocery giant.
The Types Of Checks Walmart Will Cash For You
Walmart offers check cashing. This is as long as your check is not handwritten. A good example of a handwritten check in this situation is a personal check.
To simplify, Walmart cashes preprinted checks. These are checks whose payment is guaranteed by a bank, an employee or the government. What does this look like, good reader?
- Employer’s paychecks
- Social security, retirement and insurance settlement checks
- Cashier’s check. I talk about cashing a cashier check at Walmart some time ago. It is a guide I highly recommend you check in order to know Walmart checking cashing policy on this type of check.
- Tax refund checks
- Preprinted bank check from your bank with your name on it.
- Money orders purchased from Walmart
As long as it is preprinted and the check funds are guaranteed by the issuer, Walmart will cash the check for you. I believe the reason why personal checks scare people including Walmart, is there is no guarantee that it will cash.
Since there is a chance Walmart may only see you once, the likelihood of getting their money back after they pay you is almost non-existence, Hence, why they do not cash such checks. In fact, most businesses will not accept personal checks. This is because it is associated with high risk of fraud.
What Checks Cannot Be Cashed At Walmart?
Besides a personal check, there are other checks which cannot be cashed by Walmart. I feel like the rule to Walmart check cashing is, do not walk in with any check which is handwritten. Here is what else I want you to know about these kind of checks.
- Personal printed checks. Just because it is printed, does not mean the retailer will check it. It will not, because it is issued to a single person.
- Foreign checks
- Starter checks
- Third party personal checks
- Post-dated checks
You walk in with any one of the above checks and you are walking out disappointed. So, be sure you walking in with a two-party personal checks. Or, any of the other eligible checks I mentioned earlier.
Finally, I want you to know you can still have the above kind of checks and Walmart will still not cash your checks. This is especially when the check amount you are trying to cash, has exceeded Walmart maximum check cashing limit. I will be discussing the limits of Walmart check cashing limit next.
Walmart Check Cashing Limit
Walmart check cashing limit differs from check to check. What do I mean by this, my dear reader?
Two-party personal check has a limit of $200. This is the most you can cash out at Walmart. Other checks have a different kind of limits.
Other eligible pre-printed checks have a maximum limit of up to $5000. Assuming you are trying to cash a tax refund bigger than the amount I mentioned, you can only do up to $7500. You can cash this amount at Walmart during tax season.
The tax season where you can cash up to $7500 check at Walmart, is January to April. This is the only month you get to cash a check of this size at Walmart. I thought you would want to know.
How Much Will Walmart Cash A Check For?
I would like you to know Walmart will not cash your cash for free. You have to pay a fee for any check cashed. What this means, is you will be charged a few for any each check you try to deposit at the Walmart money center. This is in case you have multiple checks to deposit.
Here is what I want you to know about the fees below.
| What kind of checks? | Walmart checking cashing fees |
|---|---|
| Two-party personal check | $6 |
| Tax refund and stimulus check | No fee |
| Preprinted check less than $1000 | $4 |
| Preprinted check greater than $1000 | $8 |
You can come in with cash for any of these fees. Also, you can pay using a debit card. Personally, I use Walmart as a last resort, due to its check cashing fee. It is high compared to other places where you could cash a check for free or a little fee. This is especially when there are apps nowadays, where you can cash a check for a little fee or none.
What Time Does Walmart Stop Cashing Checks?
The Walmart money center does not offer a 24 hour kind of service. At least in my city of San Antonio, it is not like that. I know for a fact that its hours of operation vary from location to location.
So, what is the Walmart check cashing policy with respect to check deposit time?
Most Walmart money centers will open at 8am and close at 8pm. This is from Monday through Saturday. Outside of week days, you can still cash your check on a Sunday at Walmart. But, you would have to do it from 10am to 6pm on Sundays.
If your Walmart cannot do it for you, there are other places where you can cash a check on a Sunday. These places charge less than what Walmart charges to cash a check. I recommend them, when you are trying to save on check cashing fee.
What Documents Do I Need To Cash My Check At Walmart?
You just need to go in with a legal form of identification. This includes any of the following below:
- Military ID
- State’s driver licsense
- Passport card
- International passport
- Tribal ID
Any of the above will be accepted by Walmart. Having an ID with you is important, since it proves a check you are trying to cash is for you. Walmart will not cash your check without an ID.
Other Places You Could Cash A Personal Check
Since Walmart will not cash your personal checks, there are apps out there that will cash your checks. You are probably familiar with some of them. They are:
- Cash App.
- Venmo
- PayPal
- Chime
- SoFi
- Netspend
- IngoMoney
Some of the apps above will not charge you a fee to deposit your check. I used one of them, when I do not want to drive to a bank or Walmart. In fact, I wrote a guide called 8 Best Check Cashing Apps For Instant Cash where I walked you through using them to cash a check. The guide is a worthwhile read.
Additionally, you can just go to your bank to cash a personal check. Banks are more lenient, when it comes to cashing a personal check. They will deposit it for you and withhold funds, until the check is cleared for deposit.
As a traveling contract surgical tech, I usually direct a percentage of my monthly paycheck into one of the banks I use for savings using personal checks. The bank I use for savings, never rejected these personal checks. So, I advise trying to deposit a personal check with a bank.
Having said that, I want to reiterate that Walmart does not cash personal checks. However, it will cash your two-party personal check or any other eligible check. If you are trying to know more about Walmart check cashing policy, I have a guide: How To Cash A Check At Walmart. I suggest you read it.
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