I recently took a position at a company that with about 30 employees has no direct deposit.
So on Friday mornings I skip out to their Bank where I cash the check then I have to travel to a CVS to load onto the Amex Serve card since there isn't a Walmart or 7-Eleven around to load onto GoBank. GoBank may be adding new free reload partners but at present it's Walmart and 7-Eleven.
So I have to wait till 8:30 for the Bank to open and they take forever to give me the money. The whole thing is a painful process. I do not want to get caught up in the remote check deposit hold disasters that I have read about.
It appears the best option for me is Balance Financial which will cash my check and load the funds for no charge. That's $3 cheaper than Walmart. They will also give $100 cash back which means no ATM runs later.
https://balancefinancial.walgreens.com/content/part/nm/MDAxNodokxrlfo%2BQpDkfhxfaOdIK
ATM use at any Walgreens/Duane Reed is free. There is a $2.95 monthly fee waived with $1,000 a month in deposits.
