KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

In 1999, the Maryland legislature passed a statute to license & regulate some, but not all businesses, that offer check cashing services. You, as a consumer, should be aware of the difference between licensed and exempt from licensing businesses that offer check cashing:

LICENSED CHECK CASHERS:

  1. Maximum fees regulated by type of check as follows:
  2. Government issued: 2%
  3. Personal check: 10%
  4. All other checks: 4%
    Note that the above are the maximum fees that may be charged. Each check casher sets their own fees up to the allowed amount and many checks are cashed below the maximum amount. The average fee to cash a check is below the maximum amount allowed by law.
  5. Businesses that are licensed are regulated by the State’s Commissioner of Financial Regulation and must post notice of how consumers may contact the Commissioner’s office.
  6. Licensed businesses must post their license, post their fees, and provide a receipt of transactions to the consumer.
  7. Licensed business must maintain records of each transaction for review and may be audited by the State to ensure compliance with the law.

EXEMPT FROM LICENSING CHECK CASHERS:

  1. Can not charge a fee of more than 1.5% to cash any check regardless of amount of the check.
  2. Are not directly regulated by the State and need not abide by the consumer protections that licensed check cashers must abide.
  3. You may file a comment or compliant about an exempt check casher with the Maryland Dept. of Labor, Licensing, & Regulation, but notice of such need not be posted at the business.