How to cash cheque if you don’t have a current account

For many people, it can be difficult to imagine living without a current account. But it’s the reality for many who are living “unbanked,” meaning they have no bank account whatsoever. In reality, many either unbanked or underbanked, which means they rely on alternatives to banks for financial services like cheque cashing.

Unfortunately, living without a chequing account is costly. Nearly every available service for cashing cheques will impose a fee — and many service providers won’t cash personal checks.

So what are the cheque-cashing alternatives for an individual without a current account? Here are five options and their accompanying costs:

•Visit the issuing bank

Most banks will be willing to cash cheques that have been issued from their accounts, which means you can visit a local branch of the issuing bank to get your cheque cashed. The big benefit of this is that you’ll often be able to cash both personal and payroll cheques.

However, you’ll likely have to pay a fee for the service. These fees are in place to cover the cost of processing the cheques — and you may field an offer to open an account in order to avoid the fee.

• Go to walmart

The retail giant Walmart offers cheque-cashing services for customers. They’ll cash payroll cheques, government cheques, tax chequess, and MoneyGram money orders, but not personal cheques.

• Endorse the cheque over to a friend

If you have a friend or family member whom you trust, and who has a chequing account, you can cash your cheque fee-free by endorsing it over to them to cash. When you endorse the cheque, you’ll sign your name and underneath write “Pay to the order of [friend’s name],” under which they’ll endorse the check. Their bank will then cash the check with no penalties.

Obviously, this only works if you completely trust your friend. It’s also not a favor you’ll want to get in the habit of asking, as it could be a major inconvenience for them.

• Use a cheque-cashing store

This should be a last resort, as these sorts of establishments generally charge high rates for check cashing. In general, you can expect cheque-cashing stores to charge you a percentage of your cheque’s total, although some will also charge a flat fee on top of that.

• Try pre-paid cards

Some banks will allow you to cash a check for “free” if you load the money into a prepaid card or prepaid account. The problem with these services is that the cards and accounts often have hefty monthly maintenance fees, as well as other hidden charges and fees.

The bottom line

Living without a chequing account can put you at an economic disadvantage. But if you’re willing to do a little leg work, you can make sure you pay as little as possible in fees to access your checks.