Any way you look at it, the United States Postal Service’s pilot program to allow consumers to cash a business or payroll check in exchange for a gift card has been a flop.
Continuing a trend, during the second quarter of FY24 nobody used the program at the four locations testing it, according to a USPS report issued last week. Nobody used the program during the first quarter of FY24 either.
In Sep. 2021, the USPS launched the program at four locations: Falls Church, Va.; Baltimore, Md.; the Bronx, N.Y.; and Washington, D.C. At the time, USPS officials denied that the pilot program was the first step toward allowing post offices to provide basic banking services.
The Postal Regulatory Commission has required the USPS to file quarterly reports on how many consumers have used the program and whether the postal service plans to expand it. “No determinations for future plans have been made since the previous update submitted in February,” the USPS said in its report last week.