California Check Cashing Stores

Horrible customer service. Waited 30 minutes for them to tell me they won’t cash my check even though it wasn’t expired. Very rude employees, who’s business is it that i hold on to my checks? Won’t be coming back here.

Sketchy neighborhood for sure (how much longer will there be sketchy neighborhoods in SF? I give the Tenderloin max. 10 years before it gets gentrified) but super nice, super helpful clerk who went the extra mile to let me cash my check even though I don’t have an address or a social security number in the US… thanks Jose!

Now here is an FTR that I’m finding quite amusing to write. The location of this check cashing center is on 7^th and Market and it is always full of the homeless, the addicted, the scamers, prostitutes, mental cases, (fake) disabled, cops, and people like me who just need a money order and it’s too early to get one from my bank.
Like most employed adults with a bank account and with internet access, a cell phone, or even a library card, I pay my bills electronically. Most are set up to come out of my account automatically while others I call in. But occasionally some bills must be paid by money order or cashiers check. Though more expensive I prefer cashiers checks because they have the name of the recepient printed on the check when it is purchased so no one other than the company or person it is intended for may cash it. But today at 8:05am I had one choice– a money order from one of the most ghetto check cashing places in SF. It was on the way. :-(
I was thrilled when I arrived to discover there was only one person at the window and no one in line!!!
To pass the time I began fooling with my Unilocal App. I tried hard not to pay attention to one older homeless man who was in a wheel chair hard at work cleaning/​wiping his butt with newspaper before dropping the foul smelling «wipes» onto the floor next to a trash can. I also made sure to nod and say «Uh huh» and smile a bit as tiny ancient homeless lady and crack addicted middle age man gushed over how cute my dog was and how much longer it would be before they could get their $$$ and get them «some rock».
15 min later a jack hammer began bringing up the side walk just outside the door which scared in another half a dozen of SF’s finest citizens. Not one of which got in line just hovered in pairs leaning against counters discussing their «plans» for the day.
Another 10 minutes passes of jack hammering, nonsense, and the lady who was being helped doing another 3 transactions before at last the employee told her she needed to help other people in line. 33 minutes we had waited. Thank god for Unilocal.
Anyhow my review is 3.5 stars rounded up. All 3.5 stars are for the poor lady who was working alone to help the customers, most of which I’m sure she would prefer not to deal with– esp alone. I like that they are open ²⁴⁄₇ but honestly they would need a security guard to make me feel secure doing any type of financial transaction there after dark.
At the very least– add a couple of employees because a half an hour plus wait is rediculous.