Target announced that they will no longer be accepting personal checks from customers starting on July 15th. The company cited “extremely low volumes” of checks as the reason for this decision. Retail analyst Neil Saunders from GlobalData commented, “It’s hardly surprising Target has decided to stop accepting them. That said, there will be small pockets of people, including more elderly consumers, who will lament that they are being phased out.”
Although checks are still used by 61% of Americans, according to a 2024 report by Abrigo, Target is joining other retailers like Aldi and Whole Foods in discontinuing this payment method. Target will continue to accept other forms of payment, such as Apple Pay, SNAP/EBT, buy now/pay later services, Target Circle Cards, store cards, as well as cash, credit, and debit cards.
This decision to stop accepting personal checks is part of a series of changes to Target’s checkout experience. In March, the retailer announced limitations on the number of items at self-checkout counters and allowed store management to regulate operating hours for these machines to combat rising retail theft. Target also recently slashed prices on over 5,000 items in response to declining sales earlier this year.
