By law the bank issuing the check has to make good on the check. The non-profit should use a large, well known commercial bank for their business account, cut

By law the bank issuing the check has to make good on the check. The non-profit should use a large, well known commercial bank for their business account, cut the students checks from there and give them a ride down to the local branch. Bank of America for instance would take a BofA check, cash it for the full amount in cash the same day without taking a cut. It's what checks were originally designed to do. I've been unbanked before and it sucks but, it's not impossible to overcome. Also, why are they give young people such large checks and/or money orders? If it's a money order, you can get cashed at various places for free. All you need is legal government ID. The whole point of a money order is that it's pre-secured. The money is already set aside for it. The only thing to be done is to validate that it hasn't been cashed previously. In theory this is near zero-risk for the cash issuer. It's not so much that we need to create more options, those exist. We need to educate people on this so that you aren't taken for a ride of 10%+ off of giving out cash for a money order. People need to be more informed of the market options and understand how the market works. What the difference between a check and a money order is. I grew up poor and had to educate myself on these matters. It's incredible that there aren't even basic financial literacy classes in middle school and high school. These ideas contribute greatly to society in helping people become and stay financially stable which leads to a great number of social outcomes. 10% for cashing your paycheck is a hell of a hidden tax. Taking that 10% and using it wisely will in aggregate keep people out of poverty longer, let families be more stable, food secure, etc.