Brightseat Liquors expands check cashing ten-fold with AllTrust

Brightseat Liquors in Landover, Maryland, used to regularly lose $500 in a single check cashing transaction; now they've expanded their check cashing business ten-fold with AllTrust.

"Our check cashing business has never been better. We're cashing more checks and making more money. I believe word is spreading through the community that we're the no-hassle way to cash a payroll check."Co-Owner, Brightseat Liquors

Background

Brightseat Liquors has been serving the Landover, Maryland community for more than 17 years and they've been cashing checks for just as long. Unfortunately, they'd regularly lose money on some transactions because it was hard to tell a good check from a bad one.

Previous system

"Before AllTrust, we would simply ask the customer about the check or call the customer's employer. If the check seemed OK, we'd cash it, write the check's information into our log and keep our fingers crossed it didn't come back from the bank unpaid," reports Benjamin Ilkovitch, co-owner of Brightseat Liquors.

$500 lost in a single transaction

"Before AllTrust, we kept our check cashing business to a minimum because we consistently got burned on bad checks," said Ilkovitch. "It wasn't uncommon to lose $500 in a single transaction. And you need to cash a lot of checks to make up that $500."

Lost customers

"Many times we had to turn away potential check cashing customers because we just didn't know the customer or know if the check was good," said Ilkovitch.

Solution

AllTrust gives merchants the confidence to cash checks and cash a lot of them.

Fraud alert mechanisms

With AllTrust, Brightseat Liquors can now easily confirm an enrolled person's identity and confirm their check cashing history. If the customer has an outstanding bad check at any of the other 2,000 network merchants in 40 states, Ilkovitch and his employees will be alerted before the transaction is completed and save money they may have otherwise lost.

Advanced, easy-to-use reporting

The system automatically calculates totals. For instance, the system can calculate how many checks were cashed in a certain time period and their total amount, or how much money was made from check cashing fees. The system automatically calculates store-specific pre-set fees, freeing clerks from this responsibility.

Impact

On business

Since using AllTrust, Brightseat Liquors has halted its fraud problem and expanded its check cashing business ten-fold. "It's a fool-proof system," said Ilkovitch.

On customer service

Ilkovitch reports that Brightseat customers like the AllTrust system. Once a person is enrolled, all they need is their finger scan image to cash future checks. No ID is needed. This is especially helpful for customers who have lost or forgotten their ID.

"I've had people tell me they like the system because 'you know me, even without an ID.' This is great for repeat business," says Ilkovitch.