For those having trouble doing so, if a bank gives you trouble about buying a cashier’s check without an account, you can ask them to do a Cash Advance in the amount of the check + the fee (usually $8.00), and then use that cash to purchase the cashier’s check. The problem is that they’re afraid they won’t be able to ensure the Cash Advance, but Simple will do so. Once they are successful with the Cash Advance they can sell you a Cashier’s Check.

e.g., I got a Cash Advance for $1,558.00 using my Simple debit card to pay for rent (which was $1,550.00; Amount + $8.00 = $1,558.00). Immediately after processing the Cash Advance, I handed the cash back and requested a Cashier’s Check. Many tellers are just unaware that they can do it this way, or they’re not initially inclined to go through the steps to do so. In my experience, it doesn’t take any longer than it normally would when purchasing a Cashier’s Check.

I’m dropping my Chase Bank account because I do not want muck around with their monthly fees just because I don’t keep my money in their account. I’m growing to trust Simple more and more and would much rather use it exclusively. The only downside, of course, is Cash Deposits. Worst case scenario, if it’s an excusable amount of cash, you can simply purchase a Cashier’s Check and deposit it. But if you need the cash immediately, it helps to retain a bank account.

Be aware, however, of the monthly fee. For instance, if you’re only averaging a single cash deposit or less per a month, it’s still cheaper to simply go the Cashier’s Check route. This is true because Cashier’s Checks typically cost around $8.00, while a bank account that does not meet the requirements will be charged a Monthly Fee (In the case of Chase Bank, the monthly fee is $12/mo unless you have direct deposits totaling $500 or more, or a minimum daily balance of $1,500).

Lastly, remember that Cashier’s Checks are not immediately deposited, versus an ACH transfer between banks that could end up in your account by the following morning. However, Simple is really good about this. It usually only takes a day (two max) for them to fully process your check deposit, which is faster than the average check processing duration I experienced at Chase (depending on the originating bank, of course).

All good things to keep in mind!

Thanks a lot Mike Roberts for this awesome article!