Checks, holds and cashing
Check cashing fees: what it costs to turn a check into cash
Type the amount of the check. Flat fees and percentage fees cross at different amounts, so the cheapest option for $300 is not always the cheapest for $3,000.
Published fees, 5 of 16 places
$8 to $45
Fees for cashing a check drawn on that bank when you have no account there. Your own bank cashes or deposits it free.
| Walmart | $8 |
| Bank of America | $8 |
| Truist | $8 |
| Regions | $18 |
| PNC | $45 |
| Chase | not published |
| Wells Fargo | not published |
| Citi | not published |
| U.S. Bank | not published |
| Capital One | not published |
| TD Bank | not published |
| M&T Bank | not published |
| Fifth Third | not published |
| Citizens | page not readable |
| Huntington | page not readable |
| KeyBank | page not readable |
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Check cashing fees come in two shapes. Flat fees cost the same whatever the amount: Walmart charges at most $4 for a pre-printed check up to $1,000 and $8 above, up to its limit of $5,000 (Walmart check cashing); Bank of America charges $8 to cash a check over $50 drawn on one of its personal accounts for a non-customer, and Truist $8 above $50, nothing in New Jersey. Percentage fees grow with the check: PNC takes 2.5% above $100, so $45 on $1,800; Regions takes 1% on its own checks, between $5 and $20, and up to 4% on checks drawn elsewhere. Check cashing stores charge a percentage set by the store within state rules. Depositing in your own account costs nothing, and the law requires the money within two business days for an ordinary check. Paying for immediate availability on a deposit, as Regions, M&T and PNC offer, costs 1% to 4%. Fees read on October 27, 2026.
Fees, limits and rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Fees computed for several amounts
| Place | $150 | $600 | $1,800 | $4,500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walmart | $4 | $4 | $8 | $8 |
| Bank of America | $8 | $8 | $8 | $8 |
| Truist | $8 | $8 | $8 | $8 |
| PNC | $3.75 | $15 | $45 | $112.50 |
| Regions | $5 | $6 | $18 | $20 |
A percentage overtakes a flat fee quickly: PNC’s 2.5% passes Walmart’s $4 maximum from $160, and reaches $45 on $1,800. Regions caps its own-check fee at $20, which makes it cheap for large Regions checks but not for checks drawn elsewhere, which cost 4%.
Fees by type of check
Several schedules price checks by type. Regions charges 1% on checks drawn on Regions, 1.5% on printed payroll and government checks drawn elsewhere and 4% on all other checks, with a $5 minimum (Regions check cashing guide). Fifth Third’s published percentages follow the same idea, 1% on its own checks, 2% on payroll and government checks and 4% on personal checks, but they apply to its Express Banking account holders. Walmart prices by amount, not by type, and limits two-party personal checks to $200, with a fee of at most $6, at the stores that accept them.
Depositing instead: free, but not instant
A check deposited in your own account costs nothing. For an ordinary check, $275 must be available the next business day and the rest by the second, as the tool below shows for a deposit made on a Thursday. That delay is what check cashers and instant-funds options sell.
When will a personal check be available?
All of it by
Monday
| $275 | Friday (§ 229.10(c)(1)(vii)) |
| $1,525 | Monday (§ 229.12(b)) |
Teller deposit of a local personal check, no exception, no holiday. Days are the latest the rule allows.
| Instant availability option | Price |
|---|---|
| Regions mobile deposit, “available immediately” | 1% to 4% of the check, $5 minimum |
| M&T Flash Funds | 2%, $2 minimum |
| PNC Express Funds | 2.5% of the amount over $100, $2 per check from $25 to $100 |
Minimums change the real rate
A minimum fee turns a small percentage into a large one on small checks. At Regions, the $5 minimum makes a $100 check from another bank cost 5%, not the posted figure, and a $60 check more than 8%. A cap works the other way: Regions’ $20 maximum on its own checks means a $5,000 Regions check costs 0.4%. Ask for the total you will receive before you endorse the check: that number, not the posted percentage, is what you pay, and the receipt should show the check amount, the fee and the amount paid.
Keeping the cost down
Cash the check at the bank it is drawn on if that bank publishes a low fee, or at Walmart for amounts above a few hundred dollars. Better still, deposit it in an account and wait two business days: on an $1,800 payroll check, 2.5% is $45 a month, more than many accounts cost in a year. The page on cashing without an account lists the options if you have none, and the Walmart page details its limits and accepted checks.