Circle K is a place where you can buy slushy ice drinks and snacks when you’re visiting a gas station to fill up your car, but you can also use this convenience store as an alternative to a bank branch. Like other convenience stores, it provides financial services such as bill payment that could be useful if you don’t have a traditional bank account and are relying on prepaid debit cards. Here are the financial services that are available at Circle K stores.
Can You Cash Checks at Circle K?
You can cash checks at Circle K stores. This service has been available through the store’s partnership with VALID Systems, a fintech that provides check verification services, since 2011. If you cash a check at a Circle K store, the balance will be loaded onto a prepaid Money Network card.
This process allows the convenience store to cash checks for its customers without keeping large amounts of cash outside of its safe, which is risky because it’s a 24-hour store. 7-Eleven also cashes checks by loading their balances onto its Transact cards instead of providing paper bills to its customers.
Can You Buy Money Orders at Circle K?
Circle K sells money orders but doesn’t cash them. It has an exclusivity agreement with MoneyGram, so it doesn’t sell money orders from Western Union or other money order providers. You should expect to pay a small fee to purchase a MoneyGram money order from this convenience store.
It’s also worth mentioning that Circle K stores are typically 24-hour stores so you can buy money orders there at any time. The service desk at a grocery store like Kroger or Walmart may not stay open all night, although these stores also tend to have higher transaction limits for their money orders in comparison with other stores. Circle K’s money order limit is $500 but major supermarkets may allow you to buy money orders for thousands of dollars.
Can You Send or Receive Money at Circle K?
Circle K stores also provide money transfers and you can send or receive money there. You can send remittances to recipients in foreign countries at this convenience store as well. MoneyGram provides money transfers in the United States and also allows you to send remittances to many international destinations. You can also send money transfers and remittances at 7-Eleven.
Can You Reload Prepaid Cards at Circle K?
You can also reload prepaid cards from apps like Chime and Netspend at Circle K convenience stores. Expect to pay a fee of a few dollars to reload a card at this convenience store and as always you should bring your ID if you’re using cash to reload a prepaid card at a store. Additionally, Circle K stores may not allow you to reload prepaid cards from 10 PM to 6 AM. But many other stores provide their financial services at customer service desks that aren’t open late at night either. Circle K also has its own prepaid card called the Easy Pay card that gives you discounts on gas.
Does Circle K Provide Utility Bill Payment Services?
You can also pay your power bill, your water bill, or your rent at a Circle K convenience store. It provides bill payment services as well. Because of its partnership with MoneyGram, its bill payment services are also provided by MoneyGram. Circle K doesn’t support PayNearMe, another popular bill payment app, but this service is available at 7-Eleven.
What Are Circle K Alternatives Where Financial Services Are Available?
7-Eleven is another convenience store that provides all of the most commonly used financial services, and like Circle K some of its stores are also attached to gas stations.
Walgreens provides most of the financial services that are typically available at retail stores except for check-cashing. But while Circle K does cash checks you should remember that it’ll load the balance onto a prepaid card.
Albertsons also provides all of the financial services that are typically available at retail stores at its supermarkets. Its in-store service desks may not stay open all night, but Circle K might not provide financial services late at night either. It’s risky for stores to handle cash late at night.
Conclusion
Circle K would be a useful alternative to a bank if you don’t have a traditional bank account and are relying on prepaid cards for financial transactions. It provides all of the most widely used financial services that are available at retail stores. It is important to know that it has an exclusivity agreement with MoneyGram so several of its services are only available through this financial services company. Some stores have partnerships with multiple financial service providers. And while 7-Eleven provides several financial services as well, gas stations that don’t have partnerships with either store are less likely to offer these services.