Grocery stores taking check use off shoppers' lists
In a cost-cutting move, Whole Foods may emulate Fresh & Easy in accepting only cash and credit and debit cards at checkout.
By Jerry Hirsch
September 21, 2009
Long before banks started locating branches inside supermarkets, grocery stores acted as informal financial establishments, cashing payroll checks and personal checks to provide ready cash for their customers. That's starting to change.
Whole Foods Market Inc. is considering banning the use of personal checks at its stores and this month stopped accepting checks at two stores in Los Angeles County and one in Arizona as a test.
Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, the California division of British retailing giant Tesco, won't take personal checks at any of the 70 stores it operates in California.
"Supermarkets used to be a repository of checking, cashing payroll and personal checks, but in an age of direct deposit and debit cards, that's not something that is relevant to their customers anymore," said Mac Brand, a Chicago food industry consultant.
The heads of these chains see check processing as a time-consuming and expensive service at a time when the industry is looking to drive down business costs, he said. But such a move carries risk.
"Every time you take something away, you run the risk of severing your relationship with a customer," Brand said.
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