How does DeCA's new electronic check processing system work?
Checks account for less than 20 percent of all commissary customer transactions, and with DeCA's new checkout system that electronically processes checks, customers get to keep the checks they write.
Here's how it works. A customer fills out the payment information on a check and signs it. For those who need assistance, cashiers are ready to assist; however, the customer must sign the check. The cashier runs the check through a scanner and printer on the checkout that prints additional processing information on the check and captures front and back images of the check. The processed check is handed back to the customer for their records.
In the interest of checkout efficiency and cost-effectiveness, the checkout system does not print the amount of the transaction for the customer. That service was deemed too costly and would require an additional pass through the scanner, which would slow down the checkout process.
As quick as the process is, the check-processing procedures comply with rigorous U.S. Treasury requirements that ensure customer transactions are completed securely and efficiently. The system uses the check images to serve as an extra measure of ensuring the transactions are properly done.
If I pay for my commissary purchases with a personal check, do I have to have my Social Security number imprinted or written on my check?
No. Your Social Security number (SSN) does not have to be on your check.
However, the cashier will ask that you provide your SSN at the time of purchase, so that the cashier can enter your SSN into a secure database. This provides a link between your check and you in the event that commissary personnel have to contact you.
What methods of payment do commissaries accept for commissary purchases?
Commissaries accept cash, personal checks, travelers checks, money orders, American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and VISA credit cards, debit cards, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) EBT cash assistance, Food Stamps, either as coupons or Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) payment instruments (issued as checks, drafts, vouchers, warrants, or EBT by different states), American Red Cross Disbursing Orders and Commissary Gift Certificates.
