William Lipovsky
Many U.S. retailers use the check acceptance/verification companies Certegy and TeleCheck to process and verify checks.
While some consumers are able to remedy their check problems with Certegy or TeleCheck, others consistently experience problems, which leads them to seek out retailers that don’t use either of these check acceptance companies.
Below, we provide the list of retailers that don’t use TeleCheck or Certegy, along with those that do use these companies, so you’re not left wondering about your preferred retailer.
What Are Check Acceptance Companies?
Check acceptance companies verify personal, payroll, and other types of checks.
For stores that use them, the verification systems are typically integrated with the registers. So, if the electronic verification fails when the purchase is being processed, your check will be declined.
There are four major check acceptance companies in the United States:
- Certegy: Used by stores, merchants, and retailers; the largest retail check acceptance company[1]
- TeleCheck: Used by stores, merchants, and retailers[2]
- ChexSystems: Used by banks, financial institutions, and payroll companies[3]
- Early Warning Services: Primarily used by banks and financial institutions[4]
Services like Certegy and TeleCheck are used by merchants as a form of fraud protection. The verification process uses “predictive models” to look for possible fraudulent activity, such as check writing habits.
If your history of check writing appears suspicious, the system will flag your check and the store may not accept it.
Unfortunately, this verification process isn’t always accurate. Many people have reported having their checks rejected by TeleCheck or Certegy when they have plenty of funds to cover the check, and the system doesn’t give a specific reason for turning the check down at the register or point of sale.
Check Acceptance Issues
Contacting Certegy or TeleCheck can help you resolve your issue and perhaps prevent future check acceptance issues.
If you’ve had a check denied by Certegy, you can use the declined check look-up to try to identify the problem or call Certegy at (800) 237-3826.
With TeleCheck, you may dispute any inaccurate personal information in its database by filling out its reporting form or call TeleCheck at (800) 366-2425.
If you believe your acceptance issue may be due to an error or identity theft, you may want to request your file disclosure report on Certegy’s website or Telecheck’s website to confirm whether there are any inaccuracies on your record. If there are any issues, you can file a dispute, which may help you remove these errors from your record.
Comparison Table
See the table below for a quick comparison of the stores that don’t use TeleCheck or Certegy, then select any business or scroll for more information.
| Store | Checks Cashed |
|---|---|
| Giant Eagle | Payroll, personal, traveler's, and government checks |
| Food 4 Less | Payroll, government, insurance, child support, income tax, and business checks |
| WinCo | Payroll checks |
| Vons | Payroll and government checks |
| IGA | Payroll and government checks |
| BJ's Wholesale Club | Varies by store |
| PLS Check Cashing | Personal, government, out-of-state, payroll checks, and more |
| Check Into Cash | Payroll, government, tax refunds, insurance, two-party, cashier's checks, money orders, and more |
| Speedy Cash | Personal, payroll, government, insurance, tax refund, money orders, cashier’s checks, and more |
| Community Financial Service Center | Business checks, government checks, insurance, payroll, personal, settlements, tax refunds, and more |
| The Check Cashing Store | Personal, payroll, government, insurance, small business, and money orders |
| Pay-O-Matic | Payroll, government, insurance settlements, income tax, lawyers' checks, union checks, and more |
Stores That Don’t Use TeleCheck or Certegy
There are some national and regional chains that don’t use Certegy or TeleCheck to process personal checks.
Instead, these stores use their own verification methods, like storing your check writing history in their system or requiring you to sign up for their store card and activate check privileges.
For many stores, their method is as simple as requiring that you show a government-issued photo ID.
Keep in mind that a store’s check verification method may change over time or vary by location, so you may want to contact your local store to double-check its policy.
We’ve ordered the stores in each category below starting with the best overall options.
Grocery Stores
1. Giant Eagle
- Checks cashed: Personal checks, payroll checks, government checks, and traveler’s checks up to $100[5]
- Check verification method: You must have a Giant Eagle Advantage Card to cash checks. You can apply online or in person. Personal checks must be endorsed in the presence of an authorized Giant Eagle employee.[5][6]
- Find a store
2. Vons
- Checks cashed: Printed payroll and government checks[7]
- Check verification method: Must present a valid, government-issued photo ID to use checks.[8] Note: While Vons doesn’t use check acceptance services, the chain’s parent store, Albertsons, does use Certegy.[9]
- Find a store
3. IGA
- Checks cashed: Payroll and government checks up to $1,000 (may vary by location)[10]
- Check verification method: Must enroll in its check-cashing system, which uses biometric fingerprint technology to confirm your identity each time you cash a check[10]
- Find a store
4. Food 4 Less
- Checks cashed: Payroll, government, insurance, child support, income tax, and business checks[11]
- Check verification method: Must present valid government-issued, photo ID and Social Security number or ITIN with check[11]
- Find a store
5. WinCo
- Checks cashed: Payroll checks up to $1,000[12]
- Check verification method: Must present a valid, government-issued photo ID with a corresponding address that matches your check[12]
- Find a store
6. BJ’s Wholesale Club
- Checks cashed: Varies by store[13]
- Check verification method: Must be a BJ’s member; must present a valid government-issued, photo ID with check[13]
- Find a store
Check Cashing Stores
1. PLS Check Cashing
- Checks cashed: Personal checks, payroll checks, government checks, out-of-state checks, and more[14]
- Check verification method: Must present a valid government-issued, photo ID with your check[14]
- Find a store
2. Check Into Cash
- Checks cashed: Payroll, government, tax refunds, insurance, two-party, and cashier’s checks, as well as money orders and more[15]
- Check verification method: Must present a valid, government-issued photo ID and enroll in or present your preferred check-cashing card (some states charge a $2 enrollment fee)[15]
- Find a store
3. Speedy Cash
- Checks cashed: Personal, payroll, government, insurance, tax refund, money orders, cashier’s checks, and several other types[16]
- Check verification method: Must present a valid government-issued, photo ID with your check[16]
- Find a store
4. Community Financial Service Center
- Checks cashed: Business checks, government checks, insurance, payroll, personal, settlements, tax refunds, and more[17]
- Check verification method: Must present a valid government-issued photo ID, Social Security number, and contact information with your check[17]
- Find a store
5. The Check Cashing Store (Florida)
- Checks cashed: Personal, payroll, government, insurance, small business, and money orders[18]
- Check verification method: Must present two forms of ID with your check[19]
- Find a store
6. Pay-O-Matic (New York)
- Checks cashed:Payroll, government, insurance settlement, income tax, lawyers’ checks, union checks, and more[20]
- Check verification method: Must present a valid government-issued, photo ID with your check[20]
- Find a store
Stores That Use TeleCheck or Certegy
While there are a few stores that don’t use check acceptance services, we found that most of the largest retailers use either Certegy or TeleCheck to verify funds before accepting a check.
At these stores, you’ll want to use a different payment method like cash, debit, or credit if you’re trying to avoid TeleCheck or Certegy.
Here’s the list of the national and regional chain stores that use these services, and which service they use.
Grocery Stores
- Albertsons: Certegy[21]
- Brookshire’s: TeleCheck[22]
- Costco: Certegy[23]
- Food Lion: Certegy[24]
- Giant Food: TeleCheck[25] (Find out more about Giant Food check cashing.)
- Harris Teeter: Certegy[26]
- Hannaford: TeleCheck[27]
- King Soopers: Certegy (as previously reported)
- Kroger: Certegy (as previously reported)
- Publix: Certegy[28]
- Safeway: Certegy (as previously reported)
- Save-A-Lot: TeleCheck[29]
- Shaw’s: Certegy[30]
- Stater Bros. Markets: TeleCheck[31]
- Stop & Shop: TeleCheck[32]
- Wegmans: Certegy[33]
- Winn-Dixie: Certegy[34]
Department Stores
- Big Lots: Certegy (as previously reported)
- Dollar General: Certegy[35]
- Family Dollar: TeleCheck[36]
- Meijer: TeleCheck[37]
- Sears: Certegy[38]
- Target: Certegy (as previously reported)
- Walmart: Certegy or TeleCheck
Pharmacies
Check Cashing Stores
- ACE Cash Express: Certegy[41]
- Check ’n Go: Certegy or TeleCheck, varies by store[42]
- Money Mart: Certegy[43]
- United Check Cashing: Certegy[44]
Do Stater Bros. Markets use Certegy?
Hello, Al! We contacted Stater Bros. Markets and found that it uses TeleCheck, not Certegy. We have updated our research to include this information.
Does Save-A-Lot grocery store use TeleCheck or Certegy?
Hello, Stephanie! Save-A-Lot uses TeleCheck. We confirmed this information with several store locations and have updated our article to include it.
Does Meijer use Certegy?
Hello, Jill! Meijer uses TeleCheck, as noted in its website FAQ and confirmed by a corporate customer service representative. We have updated our article to include information about Meijer.
You should update your list. Wegmans uses Certegy.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Lisa! We have confirmed this information with Wegmans and have updated our article.
Does Brookshires use TeleCheck
Yes, they use it.
Hello, Kassi! Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have added Brookshire’s to the list of stores that do use Certegy or TeleCheck.
Kroger uses Certegy. I have been to multiple locations that use certify for checks
Did Costco just start using Certegy? They never did before?
Food Lion uses Telecheck