A money order or money order is an alternative means of payment compared to personal checks, certified and cashier’s checks, as well as electronic bank transfers. They are equally safe and reliable.
For US News, a money order is as good as cash as long as it is deposited into any bank account or presented at a financial institution’s box office to be exchanged for cash.
The money order will not be widely used as a means of payment for retail products and services, however it is frequently used for international money orders as they are much simpler than international electronic transfers.
Money orders are a payment and value transfer option to consider when you don’t have a bank account or don’t want to send someone a personal check.
You can buy a money order at many banks, post offices, or even some supermarkets and stores.
We can consider the “money order” as a payment order or guaranteed checks. To issue a money order, you must pay it in advance, plus a small issuance fee, and the beneficiary cashes the check at their preferred bank.
Money orders and similar money orders don’t necessarily expire, as explained by the US Postal Service, but banks can follow the same rules for cashing and paying them as checks.
Let’s assess certain aspects of a money order from its concept to how long does a money order last?
What is a money order?
A money order is a traditional “money order” type payment instrument that can be national or international and is issued in support of the national postal service, telegraph service or some companies specialized in international money orders such as MoneyGram.
According to the United States Postal Service, money orders are a safe, convenient, affordable and universally accepted method of payment. USPS money orders are an “efficient” way to send up to $1,000 throughout the United States and “never expire.”
A common personal check can “bounce” that is, it can not be cashed due to insufficient funds, while a money order is a guaranteed payment. If the money order is lost and reaches the wrong hands, it will have no value and cannot be cashed, since the money order identifies both the amount and the place and identity of the person to whom it is addressed.
Money order, validity and other characteristics
There are no federal laws that limit the amount of time a money order is valid. However, the company that issues the payment order may impose limits on the duration in which the money order can be made.
For example, Fidelity Express charges a service fee if the customer does not cash a draft that is two or more years old. If the issuer deducts a monthly service charge for each additional month of the due date, the money order may be worthless after a certain period of time.
The Uniform Commercial Code says that banks are not required to pay checks that are more than six months old, unless it is a certified check.
Therefore, banks have the ability to refuse to settle a money order that is more than six months old, even if the issuer does not put an expiration date on the money order at the time it is issued.
If someone contacts you to say that they found an old payment order and wants to give you a percentage of it in exchange for collecting it, do not agree to do so.
This is a variation of a Nigerian scam or 419 scam, where the scammer offers you “free” money and continually asks you to pay fees and other charges before receiving your money. Also, some scammers ask you to cash a money order for more money than the scammer owes you and keep the difference for yourself. If you’re not careful you can end up paying huge amounts on behalf of the scammer and face fraud charges.
When you buy a money order, you pay the money up front, plus a small fee. For the US postal service, the charge for issuing a money order is USD 1.20 for money orders with a maximum amount of up to USD 500 and USD 1.65 for amounts between USD 501 and USD 1,000.
Because it is an already discounted payment, you cannot defer the collection of the money order as you would with a check and you will have few resources to appeal, if the person who receives the payment order before delivering the goods or services that originate the payment. Also, if someone stealing your identity cashes the money order, it can be very difficult for you to get your money back or get a replacement money order.
