By all outward appearances, Fast 'n Friendly Check Cashing's first Baltimore-area store will appear to be nothing more than just another check-cashing shop, part of a much-maligned industry that has thrived on catering to customers who aren't adequately served by banks.
But hidden behind the eye-catching logo, the well-lighted interior and the bulletproof glass will beat the heart of a commercial bank: Provident Bank of Maryland's, to be exact.
When its first store opens next month near Golden Ring Mall, Provident will become the first bank in Maryland, and one of a very few in the nation, to own and operate a separate check-cashing company.
Though check cashers meet a critical need in many low-income neighborhoods, they have been criticized for charging exorbitant fees. Provident contends those high costs aren't necessary.
"We know we can make money off this without having to gouge," said Louis R. Taylor, managing director of community banking for Provident Bankshares Corp., the Baltimore parent company of the bank.
The first Fast 'n Friendly store will open about the second week of March on Fontana Lane, across from the eastern Baltimore County mall. The second will open not long after in the Edmondson Village Shopping Center in West Baltimore.
If the first few stores are successful, Provident intends to open a total of eight or nine during the next two years, most in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods that are not well-served by banks, Mr. Taylor said. Provident has 43 branches and $2.3 billion in assets.
"About 25 percent, in some marketplaces, of the people do not use financial institutions for varying reasons," Mr. Taylor said. Either they don't trust banks, they can't afford to maintain a savings or checking account, or they live in neighborhoods where banks are nonexistent.
"So we decided there was a market where we could provide a service for a fee, but less of a fee than the other services offer," Mr. Taylor said.
Fast 'n Friendly plans to charge between $5 and $7.50 to first-time customers for a computer-coded membership card, and between 1.5 percent and 1.75 percent of the face value of the check. That compares with an average of about 2 percent or 3 percent for most other check cashers, he said.
Depending on the type of check, some cashers charge fees that can run to 10 percent or more of the check's value.
