“Predatory,” “uncharitable” and “taking advantage” of are justsome of the descriptions that the media and mainstreamfinancial services describe check cashing centers, but do thepeople who frequent them feel they are being bilked?

“I used to bank at a credit union but they held my paychecks for10 days sometimes and I needed that money,” said George Fernandesof San Diego, CA, who has banked at Payday Loans Center for fiveyears. “I'm a day laborer and I get paid by lots of differentpeople so they would always look at my check like I forged it orsomething and then hold it. I finally had enough. The fees I pay tocash my check immediately are worth it.”

According to the USPS Inspector General, “There are about 34million underserved U.S. households, comprising more than a quarterof all American families. Being underserved often comes at a heftyprice. The average underserved household has an annual income ofabout $25,500 and spends about $2,412 of that just on alternativefinancial services fees and interest. That amounts to 9.5 percentof their income. To put that into perspective, that is about thesame portion of income that the average American household spendson food in one year. In 2012 alone, the underserved paid some $89billion in fees and interest.”

But for many people such as Fernandes, credit unions are stillnot getting it.

If credit unions market themselves to poor customers it isn'tjust an altruistic act, it's a benefit to their bottom line.

Some customers use check cashing services because of bad creditor history at a financial institute, but others like theconvenience that check cashing services offer that credit unions donot, such as extended business hours and multiple sites.Convenience is one of the main reasons customers cite their use ofcheck cashing centers.

“I walk in and cash my check, pay my cable bill and get moneyorders to send to my son,” said Rachel Porter of San Diego. “My oldbank used to charge me $8 for a money order and now I pay $1.50.Everyone talks about the percentage you pay to cash a check, butwhen you look at how much banks charge for other things I need itevens out.”

Some of the inexpensive connivances or freecheck cashing centers offers that many credit unions do not:

• Payday loans and other types of loans
• Money transfers
• Bill payments
• Money orders
• P.O. boxes
• Stamps, envelopes, and mailing services
• Notary public
• Currency exchange
• Prepaid debit and credit cards
• Public transportation passes and tokens
• EBT services
• Photocopying and faxing services
• ATM machines
• Motor vehicle renewal and registration

Immediacy of funds is usually cited as the reason customerschoose check cashing centers over credit union. With check cashingcenters, consumers are immediately paid the full amount of theirchecks minus a service fee.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has become a big playerin the financial services market, charges $3 to cash a check of upto $1,000, compared with as much as $25 at other check-cashingservices and the $7 that many banks charge people who don't haveaccounts with them.

According to Walmart it offers its customers a simple feeschedule for check cashing. Checks of $1,000 or less are assessed a$3.00 fee each. All checks between $1,000.01 and $5,000 come with areasonable $6.00 fee. For tax season, the $6.00 fee applies tochecks from $5,000 to $7,500, too

No registration process is required in order to cash a check atWalmart. Customers are required to submit their social securitynumber and driver's license alongside each check. For first-timecustomers, their information is run through a consumer reportingagency. This service helps prevent fraud and will deny customersthat have tried to cash bad checks in the past. Every visit afterthe initial one takes mere moments to process each check. Fromthere, customers receive their funds immediately.

While not every credit union can compete with Walmart orproducts that check cashing centers offer their customers, they cantake the lead from these “predatory businesses' by hiring localemployees.

Check cashing centers hire within the neighborhoods that theyserve, helping customers feel more comfortable about theirfinancial decisions when dealing with someone they know.

“Claudette's kids go to school with my kids and she knows myname and always asks me if I've paid the electric bill,” saidMarybeth Franken of Los Angeles. “I used to get embarrassed at mybank because I needed all my check to pay bills. One lady said tome when I asked for cash instead of depositing anything into mychecking account, 'you know, we're not a check cashing business.'And I wanted to say, maybe you should be.