William Lipovsky
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.
Fortunately, not all stores that cash checks use Certegy, so you still have plenty of options. We list these places below, as well as the places that do use Certegy, so you’re not left wondering.
Comparison Table
See the table below for a brief comparison of the places that don’t use Certegy, then select any business or scroll for more details.
| Store | Type | Checks Cashed |
|---|---|---|
| PLS Check Cashing | Check cashing store | Personal, government, out-of-state, payroll checks, and more |
| Check Into Cash | Check cashing store | Cashier's checks, government checks, payroll, money orders, tax refunds, and more |
| Speedy Cash | Check cashing store | Personal, payroll, government, insurance, tax refund, money orders, cashier’s checks, and more |
| Advance Financial | Check cashing store | Payroll, personal, government, insurance, cashier's checks, money orders, and more |
| Community Financial Service Center | Check cashing store | Business checks, government checks, insurance, payroll, personal, settlements, tax refunds, and more |
| The Check Cashing Store | Check cashing store | Personal, payroll, government, insurance, small business, and money orders |
| Pay-O-Matic | Check cashing store | Payroll checks, government checks, insurance settlement checks, income tax, lawyers’ checks, union checks, and more |
| Giant Food | Grocery store | Varies by location |
| Stop & Shop | Grocery store | Payroll and government checks |
| Giant Eagle | Grocery store | Personal, payroll, government, and traveler's checks |
| Hannaford | Grocery store | Payroll, government, and pension checks considered “regular income” |
| Vons | Grocery store | Payroll and personal checks |
| IGA | Grocery store | Payroll and government checks |
| Food 4 Less | Grocery store | Payroll, government, insurance, child support, income tax, and business checks |
| WinCo | Grocery store | Payroll checks |
| BJ's Wholesale Club | Wholesale club | Varies by store |
| CVS | Pharmacy | N/A |
| Dollar Tree | Convenience store | N/A |
| Family Dollar | Convenience store | N/A |
| The Home Depot | Retail | N/A |
The List
The following stores don’t use Certegy to verify checks. 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, payroll checks, and more[1]
- Find a PLS Check Cashing
2. Check Into Cash
- Requirements: Valid, government-issued photo ID and enrollment in Check Into Cash’s check cashing program[2]
- Types of checks cashed: Cashier’s checks, government checks, payroll, money orders, tax refunds, and more[2]
- Find a Check Into Cash
3. Speedy Cash
- Requirements: Valid, government-issued photo ID[3]
- Types of checks cashed: Personal, payroll, government, insurance, money orders, tax refund, cashier’s checks, and more[3]
- Find a Speedy Cash
4. Advance Financial
- Requirements: Valid, government-issued photo ID[4]
- Types of checks cashed: Payroll, personal, government, insurance, cashier’s checks, money orders, and more[4]
- Find an Advance Financial
5. Community Financial Service Center (CFSC)
- Requirements: Must present a valid government-issued photo ID, Social Security number, and contact information with your check[5]
- Types of checks cashed: Business checks, government checks, insurance, payroll, personal, settlements, tax refunds, and more[5]
- Find a CFSC
6. The Check Cashing Store (Florida)
- Requirements: Government-issued photo ID[6]
- Types of checks cashed: Personal, payroll, government, insurance, small business, and money orders[7]
- Find a Check Cashing Store
7. Pay-O-Matic (New York)
- Requirements: Valid, government-issued photo ID[8]
- Types of checks cashed:Payroll checks, government checks, insurance settlement checks, income tax, lawyers’ checks, union checks, and more[8]
- 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: Government-issued photo ID[9]
- Types of checks cashed: Varies by location[9]
- Find a Giant Food
2. Stop & Shop
- Requirements: Government-issued photo ID[10]
- Types of checks cashed: Payroll and government checks[10]
- 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. Personal checks must be endorsed in the presence of an authorized Giant Eagle employee.[11]
- Types of checks cashed: Personal, payroll, government, and traveler’s checks up to $100[11]
- Find a Giant Eagle
4. Hannaford
- Requirements: Requires proper identification and check cashing application approval[12]
- Types of checks cashed: Payroll, government, and pension checks considered “regular income”[12]
- Find a Hannaford
5. Vons
Note: While Vons does not use check acceptance services, the chain’s parent store, Albertsons, does use Certegy.[13]
- Requirements: Must present a valid, government-issued photo ID to use checks[14]
- Types of checks cashed: Personal and payroll, though policies are set by individual stores[15]
- Find a Vons
6. IGA
- Requirements: Must enroll in its check-cashing system, which uses biometric fingerprint technology to confirm your identity each time you cash a check[16]
- Types of checks cashed: Payroll and government checks up to $1,000 (may vary by location)[16]
- Find an IGA
7. Food 4 Less
- Requirements: Must present valid, government-issued, photo ID and Social Security number or ITIN with check[17]
- Types of checks cashed: Payroll, government, insurance, child support, income tax, and business checks[17]
- Find a Food 4 Less
8. WinCo
- Requirements: Must present a valid government-issued, photo ID with a corresponding address that matches your check[18]
- Types of checks cashed: Payroll checks up to $1,000[18]
- 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[19]
- Types of checks cashed: Varies by store[19]
- 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:
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:
- ACE Cash Express
- Check ’n Go
- Money Mart
- United Check Cashing
- Albertsons
- Costco
- Food Lion
- Harris Teeter
- King Soopers
- Kroger
- Piggly Wiggly
- Publix
- Safeway
- Shaw’s
- Winn-Dixie
- Big Lots
- Dollar General
- Sears
- Target
- Walmart (a few locations use TeleCheck instead of Certegy)
- Rite Aid
- Walgreens
- Bed Bath & Beyond
- Best Buy
- Lowe’s
- Staples
