1989 headquarters tampa fl area served florida key people ian mackechnie founder ceo chairman number of employees 2 000 1 industry financial services slogan the money superstore website amscot.com amscot financial inc. is an american financial services company headquartered in tampa florida . founded in 1989 by ian mackechnie amscot financial provides non bank consumer financial services through a network of retail branches located exclusively within florida . amscot s core services include check cashing bill payment prepaid access cards short term cash advances free money orders atms in every branch wire transfers notary services fax services and postage . 2 as of june 2016 amscot financial operated 239 branch locations in the tampa bay orlando and miami media markets . 3 the company does not franchise any of its branches and employs approximately 2 000 people . 1 in 2008 amscot was named the top employer in tampa in the tampa bay business journal s biggest employers list . 4 5 in 2014 amscot landed on the no. 36 spot on the tampa bay business journal s tampa bay business 100 list . 6 amscot is a member of several trade organizations including the consumer financial services association of america 7 the financial service centers of america 8 and the florida consumer financial services of america fcfsa . 9 amscot has also partnered with or supported a number of community organizations in florida including the children rescue network 10 the kids first traffic safety program 11 12 and the consortium of florida education foundations cfef . 13 contents 1 history 2 associations 3 community involvement 4 references 5 external links history edit amscot financial was founded in 1989 in tampa florida by ian mackechnie 14 an entrepreneur and businessman who moved with his family from scotland to the united states in 1986 . 15 coming from a background of building and expanding businesses 14 16 mackechnie bought a bakery in tampa 14 and began supplying doughnuts and pastry goods throughout west central florida . 16 while continuing to run his bakery business 14 mackachnie noticed that his employees were cashing their paychecks in convenience stores 15 to avoid the hassle of going to a bank . 14 recognizing a demand for a check cashing business mackechnie sold the bakery company 16 and founded his own small check cashing company . 17 he created and trademarked the company name amscot as an homage to both his new home in the united states and his native scotland . 16 17 in june 1989 the first amscot location was opened on east broadway in tampa 15 and a second followed shortly thereafter on fletcher avenue . 14 amscot financial tower in westshore a principal business district of tampa florida . in the early 2000 s the company continued to grow and diversify its products and services mix . 18 by march of 2005 amscot financial operated 84 branches 19 and serviced around 200 000 customers a week . 20 the company was handling approximately 3 billion worth of transactions a year . 20 by 2006 amscot s revenues equaled 85 million . 21 amscot was now accepting bill payments for various utilities and service providers in florida including teco orlando utilities commission and lakeland electric 22 with duke energy and florida power and light fp & l added later . 23 in addition gulf coast business review named founder ian mackechnie their entrepreneur of the year in 2006 . 14 by late 2012 following an expansion into the miami market 24 amscot operated 195 storefronts in florida 25 averaging 1 600 to 2 400 square feet per branch . 26 in 2013 amscot had branches in 20 florida counties 3 operated 3 training centers that train over 50 new employees each week and had an annual revenue of 186.2 million . 6 in october 2014 amscot was named no. 36 on the tampa bay business 100 list published annually by the tampa bay business journal . 6 the company serves over 3 million customers each year 25 and mackechnie continues to serve as chairman and ceo 14 while his son ian andrew mackechnie serves as executive vice chairman corporate secretary and treasurer 18 and his son fraser mackechnie serves as chief operating officer and president . 18 27 on december 25 2015 the tampa bay business journal reported that ian mackechnie was one of the top 5 searched people in 2015 on their newspaper website . according to the publication their list narrowed down a pattern of curiosity that crosses personal finance real estate philanthropy and retail . 28 associations edit amscot is a member of the consumer financial services association of america a national trade organization which establishes best practices standards for its membership . 7 additionally amscot is also a member of the national trade association financial service centers of america fisca 8 as well as the state industry association florida consumer financial services of america fcfsa . 9 community involvement edit amscot is involved with various community programs and partners with service organizations throughout the state of florida including the children rescue network supporting their safety id card program in florida which provides free safety id cards of children to parents in case a child goes missing . 10 since 2004 amscot has partnered with law enforcement in tampa bay to promote traffic safety awareness . amscot s kids first program works with police to provide free bicycle helmets and fittings at amscot locations 11 and in 2013 amscot distributed over 12 000 free bike helmets . 12 the company is a long term supporter of the consortium of florida education foundations cfef . in 2006 amscot started its annual just a dollar campaign which raises funds for local education foundations . 13 references edit a b our people . amscot.com . retrieved july 29 2016 . other services . amscot.com . retrieved july 29 2016 . a b amscot to celebrate viera branch grand opening on saturday october 24th while supporting local non profit organization . prnewswire . october 22 2015 . retrieved july 29 2016 . working at amscot financial employers in paradise tampa . hrmtoday.com . july 13 2008 . retrieved april 4 2015 . amscot financial is one of tampa bay s best places to work . prnewswire . march 21 2007 . retrieved april 4 2015 . a b c manning margie oct 24 2014 . no. 36 amscot financial inc. . tampa bay business journal . retrieved april 4 2015 . a b cfsa best practices . community financial services association of america . retrieved april 4 2015 . a b fisca board of directors . financial service centers of america inc. retrieved april 4 2015 . a b member companies . florida community financial services association . retrieved april 20 2015 . a b how can i help . children rescue network . retrieved april 4 2015 . a b dorsey janine october 7 2013 . free bike helmets for kids at amscot locations . tbo.com . retrieved july 29 2016 . a b amscot financial to provide bike helmets . tampa bay business journal . october 14 2013 . retrieved april 4 2015 . a b customers giving just a dollar adds up to 1.2 million through annual amscot campaign . educationfoundationsfl.org . retrieved july 29 2016 . a b c d e f g h where are they now man of the people . gulf coast business review . may 14 2009 . retrieved april 4 2015 . a b c our company . amscot financial . retrieved july 29 2016 . a b c d harrinton jeff august 10 2003 . amscot s ability to bounce back . st. petersburg times . retrieved april 4 2015 . a b small tracy january 2 2004 . amscot financial branches expanding . st. petersburg times . retrieved april 4 2015 . a b c bowie melia october 7 2003 . amscot expands stores in county . st. petersburg times . retrieved april 4 2015 . ian mackechnie founder president and ceo of amscot financial accepts invitation to become a globalscot member . prnewswire . march 1 2005 . retrieved april 4 2015 . a b harrington jeff august 24 2005 . amscot s new offer savings accounts . st. petersburg times . retrieved april 4 2015 . ian mackechnie . smart business . october 26 2006 . retrieved april 4 2015 . amscot financial will accept bill payments on behalf of lakeland electric . prnewswire . june 25 2006 . retrieved april 4 2015 . bill payment . amscot.com . retrieved july 29 2016 . amscot expanding to miami . gulf coast business review . january 24 2012 . retrieved april 4 2015 . a b huff pam november 23 2012 . tbb 100 173.3 m amscot financial . tampa bay business journal . retrieved april 4 2015 . bandell brian jan 9 2013 . amscot financial plans 50 locations 500 jobs in south florida . south florida business journal . retrieved april 4 2015 . mackechnie fraser 2010 . 40 under 40 . gulf coast business review . retrieved july 6 2014 . muellner alexis december 25 2015 . curious about someone we are too . . tampa bay business journal . retrieved december 29 2015 . external links edit official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title amscot financial & oldid 732716407 categories financial services companies of 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