7-Eleven is a global convenience store that aims to cater to a lot of customer needs. In many ways, it acts like most other convenience stores across the nation. It’s a place to buy food, stock up on gas, and even re-fill your toilet roll supply. With an abundance of locations in the US, there’s every chance that you’ll come across a 7-Eleven near you.
Aside from the general services offered by this store, it can also offer various financial services for paying customers. A lot of these services revolve around the concept of check cashing. In this article, we will take a look at what these are, any fees involved, and more. So, read on to find everything you need to know about the 7-Eleven check cashing.
Is It Possible To Cash A Check At Your Local 7-Eleven Store?
Checks are quite frustrating things to be in possession of, as they’re a bit of a tease. You’ve been given money, but you haven’t quite got your hands on it just yet. To get this money in cash, you need to cash the check. For most people, this means going to your local bank branch. However, can you cash a check at a 7-Eleven store?
Following consultations and phone calls will many employees at the company, it can be confirmed that traditional check cashing is not available. The keyword there is ‘traditional,’ as they do offer other services that offer possible alternatives for check cashing.
Primarily, they have something called a Transact card. What is this? Essentially, it’s a prepaid card that can be loaded and reloaded with money. The card comes with an abundance of features, many of which function similarly to check to cash. All of these features can be found here:
Direct Deposit
With this feature, owners of a Transact card can receive payments directly only from their card. There is one catch, it only refers to payments that are available for direct deposit. For example, if your employer has set up a direct deposit with your bank account, to pay you every month, you can now get that money on your card. The same goes for any government payments that you may receive as part of any schemes, etc.
Mobile Check Load
A great feature of the Transact card is that it comes with a mobile app. On this app, you can access your phone camera, and use it to scan in any checks you have. As a consequence, you can take a check, and get the money on your card instantly.
Withdraw Funds For Free
Here’s where the Transact card turns into a viable alternative for check cashing. All you have to do is use the Mobile Check Load feature to get the money from your check onto your card. From here, you can go to your nearest 7-Eleven and use the ATM in the store. Pop your card in, and you can withdraw the cash from your check right away. It’s arguably a much quicker process than cashing a check traditionally, and you don’t have to interact with anyone, and there’s less chance you’ll be stuck in a long line.
Access Money 24/7
You can use the app on your phone to gain access to all the money on your Transact card. Alternatively, you can use the Online Account Center on your computer, and access the money there. From here, you’re able to check your balance, monitor transactions, and so on. It’s essentially a form of online banking, but only for this card.
Send Money
If you add friends and family to your Transact account, you can send them money directly from your card. This is a good feature if you ever owe someone money for drinks, or need to give a relative some birthday money.
Pay For Things
Another benefit of this card is that it can function as a regular card to pay for general items. If you’re in a shop, be it a 7-Eleven or anywhere else, and they accept MasterCards, then you can use your Transact card to make a payment. It functions exactly like a debit card in scenarios like this.
As a bonus, there’s also an app called PayNearMe, which allows you to pay your bills at your nearest 7-Eleven. This makes it easier to stay on top of things and prevents you from not paying your bills on time.
7-Eleven Transact Card Summary
In summary, you can’t do traditional check cashing at a 7-Eleven, but there is a way around it with the Transact card. All you have to do is sign up for this card, then use the app to scan your checks in and load money onto the card. From here, you go to your nearest 7-Eleven, use their ATM, and cash out your money.
It’s simple, and the best thing is, there are no restrictions with regards to check cashing hours. At your bank, there will eventually be a time where it closes. For most banks, this is around 5 pm on a weekday, early afternoon on a Saturday, and most aren’t even open on a Sunday. Here, there are no hours to worry about as you can access 7-Eleven ATMs at any time of the day.
7-Eleven Transact Card Fees
It’s worth noting that the Transact Card from 7-Eleven does come with a fair few fees to think about. We’ll now take a look at some of the various fees and non-fees that you may encounter:
- Opening an account: Free
- Replacing your card: $2.95 – this stays the same regardless of whether your card was lost, damaged or stolen
- Withdrawing money from your card: Free, but only when using an Allpoint Network ATM (all 7-Eleven ATMs fall under this category). If you want to find the nearest one near you, then run a Google search for Allpoint Network ATMs, and you’ll soon find one.
- Withdrawing money from other ATMs: $2.50 – if you use an ATM that’s not Allpoint Network branded, then you can still withdraw money, but expect to be charged this set fee, no matter how small the amount is.
- Depositing money: Free – it is always free to load money onto your Transact Card with the direct deposit feature.
- Mobile Check Deposit: Free – however, third-party fees could occur via your cell phone network as you require cell data to deposit your check.
- Reloading your card: Free at a NetSpend Reload Network (most 7-Eleven stores have these).
- Transferring money between accounts: Free (sometimes) – it’s generally free to do this in that 7-Eleven don’t charge you to do so. However, it depends on where you’re transferring the money as certain bank accounts may add fees on.
It’s also worth noting that you get charged certain fees for making purchases with your card. This is slightly complex, so we’ll go into the fees in more detail here. When you first get your Transact Card, you’re automatically put on a Pay-As-You-Go Plan. This means that every time you pay for something using the card, you get charged a certain fee.
If you make your purchase and use the card as credit, the fee is $1 per purchase.
If you make your purchase and use the card as a debit, the fee is $2 per purchase.
Alternatively, you can call customer services and ask to be put on the FeeAdvantage Plan. If phone calls aren’t your thing, then you can also opt-in to the Transact website by logging into your account.
Here, you pay a set fee of $5 per month, with no fees per purchase.
Therefore, if you plan on making regular purchases with your Transact card, this is by far the better option for you. If you only use it for the other services, e.g.; scanning in checks or direct deposit, then Pay-As-You-Go is the better plan for you.
7-Eleven Transact Card Policy/Limits
7-Eleven has various policies in place that limit how much money you can withdraw, transfer, or load.
As per the Cardholder Agreement page on their website, it states that you can’t make more than 6 ATM withdrawals per 24 hours. In conjunction with this, you’re not allowed to withdraw more than $940 from an ATM during this period. So, if you only make 5 withdrawals, but your cumulative total is $940, then you can’t make the 6th withdrawal. Likewise, you can’t withdraw more than $325 from an ATM in one go.
Over-the-counter cash withdrawals, along with any purchases you make using your Transact account, cannot go over $5,000 in one go.
You can’t load more than $7,500 onto your card from a 7-Eleven store in one 24-hour period. Similarly, you’re limited to $15,000 in a 30-day period. Speaking of which, your Transact card account has a general limit of $15,000.
Conclusion
To conclude this article, you can apply for a Transact Card via the 7-Eleven website if you’re interested in any of the things it has to offer. Many people choose to purchase it because they like the way it allows them to essential cash checks at their nearest 7-Eleven store. If you are getting one, please be aware of all the fees and limits that come with the card.