Amscot

Amscot is a Florida-based financial services company that operates a network of about 240 retail locations as of May 2024. Founded in 1986 by Ian MacKechnie in Tampa, the company began by offering faster and more flexible check-cashing services to local workers. Over the following decades, Amscot steadily expanded throughout Florida, establishing itself as a leading provider of basic financial transactions such as check cashing, money transfers, bill payments, prepaid cards, and small consumer loans.

Today, Amscot focuses on serving both underbanked and fully banked customers by providing convenient, extended-hours access to everyday financial services. Its stores are typically freestanding or located in neighborhood and strip centers along busy retail corridors in major metropolitan areas like Tampa–St. Petersburg, Orlando, Miami–Fort Lauderdale, and Jacksonville, as well as in growing suburban and secondary markets across Florida. Many locations operate year-round, including evenings and weekends, to meet the ongoing transactional needs of working-class communities.

In recent years, Amscot has continued to grow by opening infill locations within existing metro areas and expanding selectively into adjacent communities where demand remains strong. The company maintains a consistent presence as a neighborhood retail tenant, favoring accessible, high-visibility sites that support frequent customer visits. This steady, focused growth reflects Amscot’s commitment to serving Florida’s diverse population without branching into other states or franchising. Its established footprint and operational scale make it a reliable tenant for landlords and developers looking for service-oriented businesses that generate consistent traffic in daily-needs retail environments.