Food Places That Accept Checks Online & Your Options

The way food places provide services has changed, and this has led them to adopt various payment methods to suit the needs of their clientele. This is also why we have some food places that accept checks online.

Credit/debit cards, mobile wallets, and even cryptocurrencies have become the most common forms of payments in food places and other types of business too due to the convenience they provide.

However, there are still some customers who are on the lookout for food places or businesses that accept checks. For one reason or another, checks are the easiest payment option for them at the moment.

So, in this article, we are going to give you a list of food places that accept checks online as a form of payment.

Food Places That Accept Checks Online

Before you start looking through our list, we need you to understand that payment methods may vary at each restaurant location or franchise as most national and regional food places are franchises.

This means they are actually run by local owners, even if they’re part of a bigger chain. And it also allows them to choose what type of payment methods they would accept.

Now, what you must also take into account is that none of these food places accept checks directly as a form of payment for online orders or food deliveries. They only accept checks for dine-in orders.

Not to worry though, there’s a clever workaround to pay for your online orders with checks.

1. Chipotle Mexican Grill

Whether or not you can use checks at Chipotle restaurants depends on the franchisee’s policies. Some locations do accept checks while others don’t. And they only accept checks for dine-ins.

It has to be said that Chipotle does accept various payment options ranging from credit and debit cards, prepaid cards, cash, and Apple Pay (through the Chipotle app). So the best thing to do since they accept prepaid debit cards for online orders is to deposit your check into your Green Dot or Netspend prepaid debit card and then place your order as you normally would. That’s all.

2. Domino’s

Domino’s provides both delivery and carry-out services, and they also have some dine-in restaurants in select locations. However, like Chipotle, Domino’s only accepts checks at specific locations for dine-ins.

However, they accept various payment methods for online orders such as credit cards, debit cards, and others. So we recommend you deposit your check into a prepaid card account and make your order.

Also, Domino’s might need to see some ID at the point of delivery depending on the total amount of your online order.

3. Subway

There have been a lot of divergent opinions on whether the Subway restaurant accepts checks or not.  You can’t particularly say that they are one of the food places that accept checks online. Nonetheless what we can tell you is that this depends on the policies set by the franchisee. And your order must be above $50 – typically paid in advance.

Now, Subway like many other businesses accepts credit cards, debit cards, and cash which are great. Nevertheless, there are certain factors that come into play when using cash so the easy way out is to simply whip out your prepaid debit card and pay for your order rather than cash.

4. International House of Pancakes (IHOP

You can enjoy pancakes and more at IHOP. They do accept payment by cash, debit, and credit cards, or via an IHOP gift card. So, this means that just like every other company on this list, checks won’t work for online orders at IHOP.

However, you still have the prepaid Green Dot or Netspend debit card option we gave you previously. No muss no fuss.

5. Jimmy John’s

Even though Jimmy John’s website says they don’t accept personal checks, money orders, or cash payments except credit and debit cards, what we have found is different. Jimmy John’s recently began accepting Google Pay and Apple Pay as payment methods for orders at specific locations.

Here’s something you might not know: For any large dine-ins, some Jimmy John’s locations will gladly take a check and even deliver to your place so far you have been a long-time customer with a good history – This is probably the closest you can get to direct online orders with checks on this list.

That aside, the best way to order food online from Jimmy John’s is simply to deposit your check into your prepaid card in advance and then use it. The only caveat is that you must make sure the billing address associated with the prepaid debit card you’re using is the same billing address that you enter when ordering, else your order might get canceled.

You can find Jimmy John’s in most states, except a few like Maine, Alaska, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

6. Papa John’s Pizza

This pizza joint offers both delivery and carry-out services, but not all of them are cool with checks. Nonetheless, Papa John’s Pizza has an awesome app that allows you to use various payment methods such as PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa Checkout, and the usual debit and credit card options.

So if you are not down with prepaid cards, you can easily deposit your check into a PayPal or Venmo account and order online. What could be simpler?

7. Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut offers Italian fare, fast-casual pizza, carry-out, and delivery services. What makes them different is that they offer Cash on Delivery (COD) as a payment method for online orders. Plus they also accept the usual credit/debit card option. Making it a win-win situation for you. Unfortunately, like other food places, this is not one of the food places that accept checks online.

So if you are feeling too lazy to deposit your check, you can simply exchange it for cash with a friend or family member and then pay for your order at the point of delivery.

8. Applebee’s

Applebee’s recently stopped taking checks at any of their locations. However, they still accept cash, credit and debit cards, and Applebee’s gift cards; which is kind of limited in terms of payment options for such a big establishment.

So, What’s the Way Forward?

Well, the general idea is that you won’t find food places that accept checks online. However, in this article, we attempted to show you other acceptable forms of payment these online food places accept. But your check can still get you food – probably not going to be an instant method though.

So, here’s what you should do:

1. Exchange your check for cash with a friend or family member and then pay for your order at the point of delivery. You have to call them up in advance for this.
2. Deposit your check into your prepaid card account and then use it to order online. Remember that some form of ID might be required depending on the amount of the order.

Lastly, you need to keep in mind that this isn’t an exhaustive list as there are quite a lot of food places out there that allow customers to order online and pay with cash, or other payment methods such as PayPal, Venmo, and credit/debit cards that you can easily convert your check into.

How to Buy Food with Checks Online

Of course, you could still use your check on food. But you need to convert it to cash even without going to the bank. Consider the walkaround methods/steps.

1. Deposit your check

First things first, you need to deposit your check or find a way to convert it into a more commonly acceptable payment method such as debit cards (prepaid) or mobile wallets.

For this, you should sign up for prepaid cards that allow instant mobile check deposits such as Netspend and Green Dot. Note that most instant check deposit apps require a small fee for you to get the money instantly or you wait a few days at no cost to you.

Or if you prefer to use payment apps (wallets)- PayPal and Venmo. Keep in mind PayPal also allows instant check deposits, but you must have a verified PayPal Balance account for this.

As an example, we explained the full steps to deposit a check on Wells Fargo online and get cash. You don’t have to visit the bank.

2. Place your order

After you’ve found a way to deposit your check into a prepaid card or mobile wallet, the next thing is to hop on the website of your favorite food place and make your orders.

3. Exchange the check for cash

As a last resort, you can simply exchange the check for cash with a friend or family member and then pay for your order.

We can see that you are probably wondering why these food places don’t take checks when you order online or want food delivered. The thing is, checks can sometimes cause problems for the restaurant owner because they might not be valid (they may bounce). That’s why some franchisees choose to avoid taking checks altogether. That’s something to keep in mind.

For this reason, it’s a good idea to give a call to the place you plan to visit for a dine-in and ask if they accept checks. Remember, you should also have your government-issued photo ID on hand, as food places that accept checks for dine-ins generally require identification.

With that being said, it’s time to get started on our list of food places that accept checks online.

Why Most Food Places Don’t Accept Checks

1. Risk of Fraudulent Checks

One big problem with checks is the risk of receiving fraudulent checks. Fraudsters are notorious for attempting to pass off counterfeit or stolen checks at food places and this usually ends up costing the food delivery service a lot of money.

2. Bounced Checks and Payment Delays

Checks can also be a headache if they’re bounced. Common reasons are insufficient funds, improper signatures, and more. This can mess up the food delivery service’s money flow and make them wait longer to get paid for orders.

3. Security and Verification

Food delivery places have to work really hard to make sure the checks they get are legitimate. This means they have to set up strong check verification systems and other ways to check the checks. They also need to partner with the banks and teach their workers how to tell if a check is legitimate or fraudulent.

4. Processing Time and Effort

Processing checks require more time and effort compared to electronic transactions that are easily verifiable and trackable. This usually includes check verification, deposit, and managing any discrepancies or issues that may arise. Doing all this by hand slows down how fast you can pay (payment cycle) and increases administrative work.

Meanwhile! Some hotels take checks…

Final Thoughts on the Food Places That Accept Checks Online

It’s becoming almost impossible to find food places that allow you to pay for online orders with a check. Most of them only accept checks for dine-ins, and this depends on the policies of that particular franchise.

Nevertheless, we found that converting your checks into other more commonly acceptable forms of payment such as prepaid debit cards or mobile wallets (PayPal and Venmo) did the trick.

You also had the option of exchanging your check for cash with a friend or family as a last resort if all failed. But this option could only be used if the restaurant or food place offered a Cash on Delivery (COD) service.

All in all, if you look hard enough, you might just get lucky as the eatery close to you might accept checks.

Read also: 13 Online Banks with Immediate Funds Availability

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