As USPS slows mail delivery, it's testing a new business: Check cashing

The U.S. Postal Service is undergoing an overhaul of its operations under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's 10-year plan, ranging from slowing down mail delivery to raising postage prices. Now, another change may soon be in store as the postal service tests a new offering to consumers: check cashing.

The USPS began testing a check-cashing service in September, a spokeswoman for the agency told CBS MoneyWatch. The pilot program is operating at USPS retail locations in Washington, D.C.; Falls Church, Virginia; Baltimore; and the Bronx, New York, the spokeswoman said. 

The USPS is testing the service as it struggles to staunch massive financial losses, which amounted to almost $3 billion in its most recent quarter. The agency's tattered finances have sparked DeJoy's 10-year plan, which he argues is necessary to redirect the USPS toward profitability. Yet the details of his plan, including slowing first-class mail delivery starting October 1, have sparked outrage from lawmakers and postal experts, who say it will harm Americans and businesses that rely on the USPS for essential mail such as payments.