A money order is a prepaid paper payment you buy in advance, so the funds are collected before the slip leaves the counter. Landlords, government offices, and private sellers accept money orders because nothing rides on the payer’s credit, and you do not need a bank account to buy one. What most guides bury is the fraud side: a convincing counterfeit can be deposited, credited by the receiving bank, then reversed weeks later, leaving whoever accepted it liable for the full amount.
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Here is where to buy money orders, what each counter takes as payment, and why the receipt stub is worth more than the paper itself.
Money Orders Explained: What They Are and Who They Help
A money order is a prepaid payment instrument issued by a post office, retailer, or financial institution for a fixed amount, made payable to a named person or business. You hand the cashier cash or a debit card and leave with a receipt stub carrying a serial number. Because the value is collected up front, the payment cannot bounce like a personal check drawn on an underfunded transaction account, and there is no overdraft on the payer’s side.
Four groups use them most:
- Renters whose landlord refuses a personal check or an app payment.
- People without a bank account or checking account who pay by mail.
- Private buyers and sellers who will not share bank details with a stranger.
- Anyone mailing a payment where posting currency would be reckless.
The United States Postal Service, the federal mail carrier, is the largest single issuer in the country. One limit is worth knowing first: this is a domestic tool now. USPS ended sales of international postal orders in October 2024, and foreign postal operators stopped cashing the remaining ones on October 1, 2025.
How to Choose a Money Order Issuer: Features That Matter
Three things separate one counter from another: the fee, the maximum amount per item, and what the register accepts as payment.
Fee. Every seller adds a fee on top of the face value. USPS and Walmart are typically among the cheaper options and banks sit higher, but the numbers get revised, so ask at the window rather than trusting a figure you read online.
Maximum per item. Each issuer caps how much a single money order can be written for, so a large sum has to be split across several, each carrying its own fee and its own serial number to track.
Accepted payment. Most money order counters take cash or a debit card only. A credit card is rarely accepted, and where it is, the card issuer codes the purchase as a cash advance, which adds a fee and starts charging interest the same day.
Receipt and tracking. Keep the stub. That receipt carries the serial number, the only route to confirming the payment was cashed, requesting a refund, or replacing a lost item. USPS runs a status lookup tied to it.
Money Order Buying Mistakes to Skip
The costliest money order mistake is walking away with the payee line blank. A blank one functions like cash, and whoever picks it up can write in their own name.
Leaving the payee line empty. Write the recipient’s name on the front before you step away from the register, and fill in your own name and address in the purchaser section while you are still standing there.
Throwing away the stub. Without that receipt and its serial number, tracking, refunds, and replacement all get harder. Photograph it as a backup.
Assuming it settles instantly. The recipient still has to cash or deposit it, and a bank can place a hold. Ask how they plan to deposit it before you pick this over an electronic funds transfer.
Counterfeit Money Orders and the Overpayment Scam
Money orders are a favorite instrument in overpayment fraud because the paper looks official and banks often release deposited funds before the item has cleared. That gap between available and cleared is the entire scam.
The Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. consumer protection agency, describes the pattern in its guidance on fake check scams: a buyer sends a payment for more than the agreed price, then asks you to send back the difference by wire transfer, gift card, or payment app. Weeks later the document is identified as counterfeit, the bank reverses the credit, and you owe the whole amount back.
- Never accept a payment written for more than the sale price, and never wire back a difference. That one rule defeats the overpayment scam outright.
- Do not treat a bank credit as proof the item is good. Available funds and cleared funds are different things, and the reversal lands on the recipient, not the sender.
- Verify with the issuer, not the paper. Watermarks get copied. USPS operates a money order verification service, and Western Union and MoneyGram run their own lines. Call using a number you look up yourself, never one printed on the item.
- Treat urgency as a red flag. Advance-fee scams arrive with a same-day deadline and a story explaining the overpayment.
- Deposit rather than cash, then wait. Hold the goods until funds genuinely clear, not until your app shows a balance.
Scammers want the refund leg paid in something untraceable, which is why our guides to Amazon gift cards and eBay gift cards cover this same pattern in card form.
Which Stores Sell Money Orders
Post offices, big-box stores, grocery chains, convenience stores, check-cashing outlets, banks, and credit unions all sell them. Participation is set store by store, not chain-wide, so one phone call saves a wasted trip.
U.S. Post Office
The Postal Service sells postal money orders at every window for cash, a debit card, or a traveler’s check. Credit cards are not accepted. USPS states its domestic ones do not expire, which makes them the safer pick for a payment that may sit uncashed. Check the local branch page for hours first.
Walmart
Walmart issues MoneyGram items at its Money Center or customer service desk and is usually one of the cheapest counters in the country. Pay with cash or debit. Current fees and the per-item cap are posted at the desk, and the store services page lists what each location handles.
CVS Pharmacy
CVS issues MoneyGram items at most locations. Ask at the front register, not the pharmacy counter. Fees are set locally, so two stores in the same city can quote different numbers.
Grocery Stores and Convenience Stores
Kroger, Publix, Meijer, and Safeway sell them at the customer service counter, and many 7-Eleven and independent convenience store locations act as Western Union or MoneyGram agents. Call and ask whether that counter still offers money orders and what it charges.
Banks and Credit Unions
Your bank or credit union, a member-owned financial institution, can usually issue one, and some waive the fee for account holders. Not every large bank still does, so ask about a cashier’s check in the same call, since for a large sum that is the better instrument.
Canada Post
Readers in Canada buy them at Canada Post outlets, where fees and limits differ from the American system.
Buying Money Orders Online: What Is Actually Possible
You cannot buy a genuine postal one online. USPS sells in person only, and the big agent networks steer online customers toward electronic transfers instead of paper.
Western Union
Western Union, one of the oldest transfer companies still operating, sells paper money orders at agent locations and offers transfers through its site and app. The online product is a transfer, not a document you can mail: you fund it with a debit card, and the recipient collects cash.
MoneyGram
MoneyGram works the same way, with an agent network across U.S. retail counters and digital transfers online. Create an account, verify your identity, then pay online or finish the financial transaction at a nearby agent.
USPS Online
USPS does not sell online and no longer issues international ones. The site is still useful for finding a branch and running the status lookup. If you are mailing the payment, buy stamps at the same window.
Alternatives to Money Orders
Three alternatives cover most reasons people reach for one.
Cashier’s check. Drawn by a bank against its own funds, with no practical per-item ceiling. Better for down payments and closing costs, though you generally need an account there.
Zelle and bank transfers. An electronic funds transfer lets you send money between U.S. banks in minutes for free at most institutions, but it is effectively irreversible, so send only to people you know.
Prepaid debit cards. Useful when the recipient has no bank account and nothing travels by mail. Fees vary and acceptance is narrower. Our Visa gift cards guide covers what to check first.
Skip the paper when both sides hold bank accounts and you trust the recipient. It wins in one narrow case: a landlord, court, or agency that demands a physical payment with a traceable receipt.
Our Top Money Order Picks by Situation
Ranked by the job rather than the brand, since the paper is close to identical from issuer to issuer.
Best overall: USPS postal money order. Sold at every post office, backed by a federal agency, does not expire domestically, traceable through the USPS status tool. See related products on Amazon
Best for low fees: Walmart MoneyGram. Typically among the cheapest counters, with long store hours and a dedicated desk in most supercenters. Check MoneyGram products on Amazon
Best for a large payment: cashier’s check from your bank or credit union. One instrument instead of five, with the bank’s own funds behind it. Bring photo ID.
Best for sending abroad: Western Union transfer. USPS no longer issues international items, so a licensed transfer service is the practical route. See related products on Amazon
Start at the counter closest to you and ask two questions at the window: the fee today, and the maximum per item. Fill in the payee line before you walk off, photograph the stub, and if you are on the receiving end of money orders from a stranger, call the issuer’s verification line before releasing goods or refunding anything.
Common Questions About Money Orders
How do you fill out a money order?
Write the payee’s name on the “pay to the order of” line first, before you leave the counter. Add your own name and address in the purchaser section, put your signature on the front only, and note the account or invoice number in the memo line. The back stays blank for the recipient to endorse. Detach the stub and keep it.
What happens if a money order is lost or stolen?
Contact the issuer with your receipt and serial number and file a replacement or refund request. USPS, Western Union, and MoneyGram all have a process, all charge a fee for it, and none are quick, because the issuer must confirm the item was not already cashed. That is the whole reason the stub matters.
Can you buy one with a credit card?
Almost never. Most counters accept cash or a debit card only. Where a credit card is taken, the card issuer typically codes it as a cash advance, which carries its own fee and starts accruing interest immediately.
Are money orders safer than personal checks?
They are safer for the sender, not automatically for the recipient. Funds are collected up front, so there is no bounced check or overdraft on the payer’s side and your bank account number stays private. The recipient still carries counterfeit risk, which is why verifying with the issuer first is the step that protects you.
The wheretobuyguides.com editorial team checked issuer availability, USPS policy, and retail counter options for this guide in July 2026.