A money order is a prepaid paper payment, so the funds are collected before the slip leaves the counter. Landlords, courts, 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 took it liable.
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Here is where to buy them, what each counter takes as payment, and why the stub matters more than the paper itself.
Money Orders Explained: What They Are and Who They Help
Think of it as cash with a name on it. A post office, retailer, or financial institution issues the slip for a fixed amount, payable to a named person or business, and you pay the cashier in cash or debit for a receipt stub carrying a serial number. The value is collected up front, so the payment cannot bounce like a personal check drawn on an underfunded transaction account, and no overdraft lands on the payer.
Four groups use money orders to pay:
- Renters whose landlord refuses a personal check or an app payment.
- People with no bank account or checking account who pay by mail.
- Sellers who will not hand bank details to a stranger.
The United States Postal Service, the federal mail carrier, is the largest single issuer in the country. One limit matters up front: this is a domestic tool now. USPS ended sales of international money orders in October 2024, and foreign operators stopped cashing the leftovers in October 2025.
How to Choose an Issuer: Features That Matter
Three things separate one counter from another: the fee, the cap per item, and what the register accepts.
Fee. Every seller adds a charge on top of the face value, and money order fees get revised without notice. USPS and Walmart sit among the cheaper counters, banks higher. Ask at the window rather than trusting a figure you read online.
Maximum per item. Each issuer caps how much a single slip can be written for, so a large sum splits across several, each with its own fee and serial number to track.
Accepted payment. Most counters take cash or a debit card only. Where a credit card is taken, the card issuer codes the money order purchase as a cash advance, which adds a fee and starts charging interest that day.
Receipt and tracking. Keep the stub. Its serial number is the only route to confirming the value of the money order reached the payee, requesting a refund, or replacing a lost slip. USPS runs a status lookup tied to it.
Money Order Buying Mistakes to Skip
The costliest mistake is walking away with the payee line blank. A blank slip works like cash, and whoever picks it up can write in their own name.
Leaving the payee line empty. Fill out a money order at the counter, not in the car. Write the recipient’s name on the front and your own name and address in the purchaser section before you step away.
Throwing away the stub. Without that serial number, tracking, refunds, and replacement all get harder. Photograph it as a backup.
Assuming it settles instantly. The recipient still has to cash the money order 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.
Spotting a Counterfeit and the Overpayment Scam
Counterfeits are a favorite in overpayment fraud because the paper looks official and banks often release deposited funds before the item clears. That gap is the whole scam.
The Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. consumer protection agency, describes the pattern in its guidance on fake check scams: a buyer pays more than the agreed price, then asks you to send back the difference by wire transfer, gift card, or payment app. Weeks later the paper is identified as counterfeit, the bank reverses the credit, and you owe the whole amount. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau gives the same warning.
- Never accept a payment written for more than the sale price, and never wire back a difference. That rule alone defeats the scam.
- A bank credit is not proof the paper is good. Available funds and cleared funds differ, and the reversal lands on the recipient.
- Verify the money order with the issuer, not the watermark. USPS runs a verification line, and Western Union and MoneyGram run their own. Call a number you look up yourself, never one printed on the item.
- Treat urgency as a red flag. An advance-fee scam arrives 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 paid in something untraceable, which is why our Amazon gift cards and eBay gift cards guides cover the same pattern.
Which Stores Carry Money Orders
Post offices, big-box stores, grocery stores, convenience stores, check-cashing outlets, banks, and credit unions all offer money orders. 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, but not credit cards. USPS states its domestic ones do not expire, which makes them the safer pick for a payment that may sit uncashed. Check the branch page for hours.
Walmart
Walmart, the largest brick-and-mortar retailer in the U.S., issues MoneyGram slips at its customer service desk and sits among the lower-fee counters. Pay with cash or debit. Fees and the per-item cap are posted at the desk, and the store services page lists what each location handles.
CVS Pharmacy
CVS uses the same agent network at many locations. Ask at the front register, not the pharmacy counter. Fees are set locally, so two stores in one city quote different numbers.
Grocery 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 what that counter charges.
Banks and Credit Unions
Your bank or credit union, a member-owned financial institution, may issue one, and a few waive the charge for members. Not every large bank still does. Ask about a cashier’s check in the same call, which is the better instrument for a large sum.
Canada Post
Readers in Canada buy them at Canada Post outlets, where fees and limits differ.
Best Places to Buy One Online
You cannot buy a money order online in the paper sense. USPS sells in person only, and the agent networks steer online customers toward electronic transfers.
Western Union
Western Union, one of the oldest transfer companies still operating, sells paper 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 bank card, and the recipient collects cash.
MoneyGram
MoneyGram works the same way, with agents across U.S. retail counters and digital transfers online. Create an account, verify your identity, then finish the financial transaction online or 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
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 moves cash between U.S. banks in minutes, free at most institutions, but it is effectively irreversible, so send money only to people you know.
Prepaid cards. Useful when the recipient has no bank account and nothing travels by mail. Fees vary and acceptance is narrower, and our Visa gift cards guide covers what to check. Parking cash long term instead of moving it? Savings bonds are the other paper instrument worth knowing.
Skip the paper when both sides hold bank accounts and trust each other. It wins in one narrow case: a landlord, court, or agency that demands a physical payment with a traceable stub.
Our Top 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, no domestic expiry, traceable through the USPS status tool. See related products on Amazon
Best for low fees: Walmart. 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: a cashier’s check from your bank. One instrument instead of five, with the bank’s own funds behind it. Bring photo ID.
Best for sending abroad: a 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: the fee today, and the maximum per item. Fill in the payee line before you walk off, photograph the stub, and if money orders arrive from a stranger, call the issuer’s verification line before you release goods or refund anything.
Common Questions About Money Orders
How do you fill out a money order?
Five steps, all at the counter:
- Write the payee’s full name on the pay to the order of line, so a blank slip cannot be claimed by a finder.
- Add your own name and address in the purchaser section.
- Note the account or invoice number in the memo line.
- Sign the front only, leaving the back blank for the payee to endorse.
- Detach the stub and keep it, because its serial number is your only proof.
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 for it, and none are quick. Expect weeks, not days.
Who cashes money orders, and will any store do it?
Post offices, banks, credit unions, check-cashing outlets, and some grocery stores cash them. A store will usually only cash a money order it issued. Bring photo ID, and expect a hold if you are not an account holder there.
Are they safer than a personal check?
Safer for the sender, not automatically for the recipient. Funds are collected up front, so nothing bounces on the payer’s side and your account number stays off the paper. The recipient still carries counterfeit risk, which is why verifying with the issuer first protects you.
The wheretobuyguides.com editorial team checked issuer availability, USPS policy, and retail counter options for this guide in September 2026, with reference to Federal Trade Commission fraud guidance.