The Postal Service is defending a nearly yearlong check-cashing pilot, despite a quiet rollout and a lack of customers.
USPS attorneys told the Postal Regulatory Commission, in a filing last week, that allowing customers to purchase single-use gift cards worth up to $500, using a business or payroll checks as payment, doesn’t count as the agency branching out into new, non-postal services, as restricted by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act.
USPS charges a flat fee of $5.95, won’t accept checks larger than $500 and won’t disburse cash for any checks. Four post office locations are currently participating in the pilot in Washington; Baltimore; Falls Church, Virginia, and the Bronx, New York.
USPS said the check-cashing pilot simply allows for a new form of payment for gift cards it’s been selling for more than a decade, along with greeting cards and stationery the agency has been permitted to sell.
