It seems that almost any place that you walk into WalMart will have a long line of people waiting to ask the clerk questions regarding their purchases. But, do they take starter checks? While some people will just take change or a gift card, many of the larger stores carry these. So, is it safe for them to take your money? Let’s find out.
While WalMart does take these, some of the smaller stores may not. It’s not as common for them to do so, but if you do happen to find this place in your local mall, you might want to reconsider. Some of the smaller stores like Sam’s Club and JC Penney do take these, as do many of the gas stations. If you’re buying some kind of large ticket item, they may be forced to take your check at that time.
The main reason these are offered is to let customers start their shopping right away. With that being said, if you’ve already paid for items and are still standing in line, it might not be a good idea to hand them a check. There could be fraud going on and you run the risk of paying more than you need to. This is especially true with bigger items such as televisions.
It seems WalMart takes these because they want to help you out as you’re standing in line. They don’t want to have you wait too long to get your shopping started. You can expect them to take anywhere from a quarter of your starting balance to a full quarter. Keep in mind though, these start up funds only last for a few seconds. After they are gone, your cash starts going out the door. If you want to keep the money you came with, you’ll have to come back, but at least you won’t be paying any more interest.
Usually the company will send you a check once your starting amount is reached. This is what most people call “bounced check refunds”. Then you simply wait until your next scheduled pick-up date, and when your item is available again, you can go back and give them your cash, and you won’t have to pay interest or anything else.
You should definitely still use Walmart coupons when purchasing your items. It may seem like they won’t be as effective as starting your own savings account at the same place. However, they will still allow you to save extra money, so you won’t end up paying full price for everything you purchase. Even with Walmart taking away the starting amount, they still offer incredible discounts to those who use their coupons.
