Unicash Financial Centres vs Express Financial Centers Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Unicash Financial Centres vs Express Financial Centers including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Unicash Financial Centres Franchise
Express Financial Centers Franchise
Investment $110,000 - $150,000$45,600 - $223,500
Franchise Fee $25,000$14,500 - $34,500
Royalty Fee 5%$300/Mo. or 5%
Advertising Fee --
Year Founded 1992-
Year Franchised 1998-
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Renewal Fee $12.5K Cdn.-


Business Experience Requirements

 
Unicash Financial Centres Franchise
Express Financial Centers Franchise
Experience
  • General business experience
  • We are looking for people who have great experience in running a business operation, but might or might not have started a business in the past.

    Financing Options

     
    Unicash Financial Centres Franchise
    Express Financial Centers Franchise
      In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
    Franchise Fees No/No-/-
    Start-up Costs No/No-/-
    Equipment No/Yes-/-
    Inventory No/Yes-/-
    Receivables No/No-/-
    Payroll No/No-/-

    Training & Support

     
    Unicash Financial Centres Franchise
    Express Financial Centers Franchise
    Training - Classroom training and real in-store training at least two locations showing real market conditions
    Support Meetings, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives*Assessing the market in your area for feasibility *Offering site selection options *Lease negotiations that include EFC and professional leasing companies representing you *Build-out options that allow you or EFC to ready the space *Licensing and Insurance application support *Store opening support including up to one week on site grand opening support *Part of the EFC membership program that allows customers to go to any EFC locations adding total portability and branding *Ongoing support for any questions as they come up. Live professionals helping you with issues *Internet lead support *Free software upgrades as released
    Marketing Co-op advertising Current working advertising programs
    Operations 35% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 2

    Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

    -

    Expansion Plans

     
    Unicash Financial Centres Franchise
    Express Financial Centers Franchise
    US Expansion --
    Canada Expansion No-
    International Expansion Yes-

    Company Overviews

    About Unicash Financial Centres

    Unicash opened its first retail store in 1990, and grew as an organization of retail outlets which cash cheques for the public -for a fee. Unicash prides itself on having its outlets cashing virtually every kind of cheque at one of the most competitive rates in the Canadian cheque cashing industry.

    In addition to cashing cheques, the Unicash outlets offer a variety of other services such as Western Union money transfer, currency exchange, bill payments, sale of money orders and mail box rentals, just to name a few.

    In recent years, Unicash Mercantile has successfully established itself as a specialized foreign exchange service provider to small and medium sized businesses. As business expands across the globe, the need for foreign currency, as well as secure and efficient funds transfers become a corner stone for many enterprises. Unicash Mercantile is the solution for all your foreign exchange needs.

    About Express Financial Centers

    Express Financial Centers is a franchise company in the check cashing/payday loan segment. We operate no stores directly, but rely on our well qualified franchisee to run their store based upon our high standard. We are highly focused on building repeat clients At Express Financial Centers we can help enjoy the process of being your own boss with guidance at each step as you need it. That includes everything you need from the initial idea stage to the store opening and beyond. This includes: *Assessing the market in your area for feasibility *Offering site selection options *Lease negotiations that include EFC and professional leasing companies representing you *Build-out options that allow you or EFC to ready the space *Turnkey ready and all levels between *Licensing and Insurance application support *Classroom training and real in-store training at least two locations showing real market conditions *Store opening support including up to one week on site grand opening support *Marketing support that includes current working advertising programs *Part of the EFC membership program that allows customers to go to any EFC locations adding total portability and branding *Ongoing support for any questions as they come up. Live professionals helping you with issues *Internet lead support *Free software upgrades as released Express Financial Center gives you several franchise options to choose from: Full Service Store Front franchise - This is our complete store that includes the complete variety of services. Franchisee fee: $34,500. Estimated total investment $90,600 to $223,500. Royalty: The greater of $300 or 5% of the gross receipts. Usually 1,000 to 1,500 square feet and in retail shopping areas. Small Market Franchise or Store Kiosks - This is our store that for smaller markets or hard to place sites Franchisee fee: $14,500. Estimated total investment $45,600 to $89,500 Royalty: The greater of $300 or 5% of the gross receipts. Usually 750 to 1,000 square feet and in retail shopping area (Kiosks as low as 300 square feet). Express Financial Center conversion - Existing Payday lending/check cashing existing stores that wish to convert to the advantages and added products of EFC. Call for details. Multi-store plan - We have a great plan that gives you the right to buy additional franchisee locations over the next 12 months at reduced costs. Unlike many other franchise operators we allow you reserve an area and get your feet wet in the first location before paying for the future locations. Area Development - This gives a franchisee with significant resources and skills to market many stores to other in given markets. These markets are limited to certain areas.