PayPal Waives Check Cashing Fees For Stimulus Checks

PayPal will allow customers to cash their next stimulus checks free of charge, according to a press release.

The payments giant said in the release that the checks will go through instantly on the PayPal app’s cash-a-check feature. The normal check-cashing fees will be waived for coronavirus relief checks, currently planned to be $600 per person. This can be done from a mobile phone, without the user leaving their home to go to a bank or ATM.

In addition, customers who used PayPal or Venmo‘s Direct Deposit features to receive the stimulus checks the first time via the CARES Act will receive the new $600 payments automatically through the same service this time if they’re eligible for the checks. According to the IRS, they’ll use the same Direct Deposit details as they did the first time, the release stated.

John Kunze, PayPal’s senior vice president of Branded Experiences, said the company wants to be of use during the pandemic.

“In the first wave of the government’s stimulus payments in April and May, we saw an incredible number of customers look to PayPal as a way to receive their stimulus payment quickly and securely, either through Direct Deposit or using the PayPal cash-a-check feature,” he said, according to the release. “With the next round of payments to individuals coming soon, customers receiving a government-issued paper stimulus check over the coming weeks will be able to cash their check without visiting a physical check-cashing location, simply by taking a picture of the check within the app to receive the funds quickly and easily.”

The coronavirus relief bill was agreed upon this week after months of debate between party leaders over what it would entail. The $600 individual payments could be sent out as soon as next week, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. He praised the relief bill as a way to help rejuvenate the economy as people go out and spend the money.