You may be familiar with Walmart, Target, Food Lion, Whole Foods, Albertsons, Meijer, and Aldi. But do you know Safeway? If you don’t live in the western states, mid-Atlantic region, or the eastern seaboard, then probably not.
SW what is Safeway?
A subsidiary of Albertsons, it is a supermarket chain of convenience stores that operate as massive shopping hubs for almost everything. Their convenience stores have different departments like groceries, pharmacy, bakery, deli counter, floral, liquor stores, fuel centers, Starbucks coffee shops, and a money center to buy stamps and make copies. That’s why Safeway operates under a simple slogan: “Ingredients for life.” So you can get everything you need to live, or at least exist, inside each store.
To serve its customers well, Safeway has across 18 states in the US. However, their primary base of operation is out west. Most Safeway locations are in California, Washington, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado, Maryland, and Virginia.
Whether you’re looking for gas stations that do cash back, Starbucks that take EBT, buy money orders, pay bills, buying gift cards, or a Coinstar machine, a Safeway convenience store is your one-stop-shop for all your needs. You can find the cheapest foods to buy on a budget, fuel your car, and cash a check at the same time. That’s how you save time and money on gas.
Before you record the keys, it’s helpful to know the various Safeway money services, fees, and requirements so you can make an informed decision.
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It leads us to the question: What are Safeway’s financial services?
Quick Answer: Apart from grocery shopping, Safeway offers various money services such as money orders and check cashing services. Safeway stores sell Western Union money orders up to $500 each for about $1, but the grocery stores don’t cash money orders.
Mostly you can cash both government-issued and payroll checks at Safeway. Fees and limits vary from place to place, but you can expect to pay $2.25 for every $200 cashed. It will still be less compared to your time and gas consumption driving to the bank.
Other financial services offered in-store at a Safeway money counter include money transfer, gift cards, bill payment, check writing, and coin counting machines.
Read on to learn more about Safeway check cashing and money order policy, fees, requirements, and limits.
What is the Check Cashing Policy at Safeway?
You can access Safeway’s check to cash if there’s a location in your area. It’s one of the financial services offered at its over 900 convenience stores in the US.
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Does Safeway do cashier’s checks? Yes, Safeway does sell cashier checks.
The Safeway check cashing policy allows you to cash payroll checks, cashier’s checks, and government-issued checks like social security checks, stimulus checks, tax refunds, disability benefits, and unemployment benefits checks.
The maximum amount you can cash at Safeway may vary by location. But typically, Safeway’s check cashing policy allows a maximum check amount at $1,500. It costs around $2.25 for every $200 check cashed, but fees can vary.
Safeway check cashing hours vary by location but are similar to its normal hours of operation. Most stores are open from 7 am to 10 pm. But sometimes, the money center or the Western Union counter has shorter hours and can close around 8 pm.
There’s a catch: Fees can quickly skyrocket for large check amounts. For example, at the $2.25/$200 rate, it will cost $11.25 to cash a $1,000 check at Safeway. That’s expensive for a frugal consumer!
So why would anyone choose Safeway check cashing at such high fees when banks offer free check cashing as a perk to account holders?
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There are several reasons to use Safeway check cashing, including:
- No bank account: Per the , 5.4% of American adults belong to the “No Bank Account” camp. Safeway check cashing near me is a boon when they receive some form of payment via a check to the unbanked Americans.
- Cash a check at an odd hour: Banks and credit unions close early in the evening and on weekends. Safeway is a great place to cash a check at night for people who work through or past banking hours.
- Convenience: The ability to cash a check while running other errands offers convenience. Instead of driving to the bank, you can take advantage of Safeway check cashing services to save time and money on gas when shopping with your cheap grocery list at Safeway. And as you know, convenience comes at a price!
In such situations, the fee for cashing a check at Safeway is justifiable. However, it’s still minuscule compared to the time and gas spent driving to your bank branch or a no-fee ATM that dispenses $10.
Due to the risk of fraud associated with check cashing, Safeway doesn’t cash checks without an ID. Therefore, you must always present a government-issued photo ID like a driver’s license, military ID, or passport.
With or without an ID, you won’t be able to cash personal checks, handwritten checks, and starter checks at Safeway. Also, Safeway isn’t among the places that cash third-party. These types of checks come with an increased risk of fraud. Thus, Safeway’s check cashing policy imposes further restrictions to protect itself and its customers.
Recommended reading: Best 24 Hour Check Cashing Near Me
What is the Check Writing Policy at Safeway?
Many people have stopped writing checks because of alternative digital payment methods. But as you know, you can’t easily teach an old dog new tricks. So while millennials have ditched paper checks for modern payment methods, baby boomers are still writing checks, even grocery purchases. shows that an average of 14.7 million checks for $30.8 billion are processed daily.
That’s why grocery chains like Safeway still accept checks as a payment method and allow customers to get cash back on purchases. However, to pay with a check at Safeway, you must present a government-issued photo ID to verify your identity.
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You must pass a Certegy verification, a third-party electronics check service that Safeway uses for risk analysis. You’re more likely to fail the Certegy verification process if you have a history of unpaid checks, returned checks, checking account issues, or you don’t write checks often.
Safeway’s check cash back limit is $25. Therefore, you can overpay your purchase amount by $25 to receive cash back when paying with a check. For instance, you’ll write a check of $50 if your purchase total is $25 and you want to receive $25 cash back.
You’ll need to write multiple checks if you need more than the $25 limit.
But, there’s a way around writing multiple checks: pay with your debit card or Discover credit card.
Safeway is among the stores that give the most cash back on debit cards. Safeway’s cash back limit on debit card purchases is $200! And the good thing is, Safeway doesn’t charge any cash back fees or impose a minimum spend to be eligible for cash back.
Just buy a newspaper or purchase anything like a bottle of filtered water or cheap diapers to be eligible. Then, overpay your purchase with any amount up to $200 to receive your money back.
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You can also receive cashback up to $120 when paying with your Discover credit card at Safeway. Although Safeway has a higher cashback limit of $200 per transaction, Discover only allows cardholders to receive a maximum of $120 cashback within 24 hours.
Does Safeway Do Money Orders?
Safeway sells Western Union money orders at the customer service desk. Safeway money order limits and fees vary by store, but most locations have a limit of $500 per order. The fees can range between 59 cents to $1, depending on the specific location.
Most Safeway grocery stores accept cash for money orders, but you may find a few locations that allow you to buy money orders with unexpired debit cards. Unfortunately, the customer service desk doesn’t accept credit cards with chips as a payment method when buying money orders.
The Safeway money order hours are usually the regular store hours of operation, which tend to be 7 am to 10 pm. However, the Western Union counter has shorter and may close at 8 pm in most locations. So make sure you get there early enough.
Just like Publix money orders, Safeway’s is a good place where you can get cheap money orders near me. For instance, it costs $1.25 to purchase a $500 money order at the post office and $1.75 for a 1,000 money order.
Although Safeway sells Western Union money orders, it doesn’t cash them. So you’ll have to find a different place to buy Western Union money orders. Your bank or credit union is the best place for free money order cashing services. Fees are also cheap for non-bank customers.
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Safeway doesn’t sell MoneyGram money orders. But CVS sells MoneyGram money orders at $1.25 and has a limit of $500 each. You can also buy and cash MoneyGram money orders at Walmart up to $1,000 each for 70 to 88 cents.
Money orders are a great alternative to checks and credit cards. They come in handy when you want to make payments without exposing your bank details. Checks carry your banking details such as a routing number, account number, and the risk of insufficient funds that can expose you to overdraft fees. Alternatively, money orders are prepaid with enough money to guarantee payment and don’t expose your bank account details.
Money orders are a safe payment option when dealing with suspicious merchants or avoiding overdraft fees when making large payments, like paying an excavating contractor.
Does Safeway Do Money Transfers?
Another financial service to take advantage of at Safeway is their money transfer services. The money transfer services are also handled at the customer service desk.
All money transfers at Safeway are processed through Western Union. You can use Safeway’s money transfer service to make both domestic and cross-border transfers. Accepted money transfer payment methods include cash and debit cards.
Safeway’s money transfer fees vary based on the amount you’re sending and the recipient’s destination. But mostly, they align with the Western Union fees paid at most places.
The required money transfer details include the recipient’s full name as it appears on their ID, bank details like the routing number, account number, and the person’s address.
Once you make a transfer at Safeway, you’ll receive a tracking number to share with the recipient. Then, they’ll use the tracking number to collect the money at their local Western Union branch or nearest Safeway location.
Does Safeway Have a Coinstar?
Safeway stores have Coinstar kiosks where you can cash extra coins for bills, e-gift cards, or donations to your favorite charity. You can find a coin counting machine at the front of your local Safeway store.
Coins can be inconvenient to carry around. Unfortunately, such convenience comes at a price. Coinstar charges a 12% fee of the total amount if you choose to get cash bills back. That means you will be out $12 for every $100 you redeem. The fee isn’t just for Coinstar machines at Safeway, but all places with coin-counting machines near me.
But there’s a way around the fee. The 12% fee is waived if you choose to redeem your coins for a gift card or a charitable donation.
To make it easier for you, Coinstar partners with gift card brands and charity organizations. To redeem your coins for a gift card,…
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