Process of Cashing a Money Order

As time passes, family members move to different places because of various reasons. Wherever they go, they also take responsibilities of the family with them. One such responsibility is to help out any family member in times of need. Most of the time, it can be a financial difficulty and can be solved by sending money to him or her. In today's technology based world, transferring money can be done in various ways.

The family member receiving it must know how to go about cashing the money order. A money order is considered 'as cash', and it is much easier to cash, than a personal check. The following paragraphs are dedicated to give information on how to cash a money order. They also explain where to go, in order to cash different types of money orders.

Cashing Money Orders at the Post Office

If it is a domestic money order issued by the United States Postal Service that you are going to cash, then you won't have to pay any charge and the process of cashing it is very easy.

• You don't have to pay any money order cost for cashing it, as you would have to if you want to fill out a money order form. The charge has already been paid by the sender.
• All you have to do is go to a nearest post office, and carry your government-issued identity card with your photo on it. Present the money order at the proper counter and get the cash.
• If the amount of money involved is large, then, you may have to visit the main post office in your area to get the money order cashed.
• Try to avoid going to the post office at the beginning or the end of the workday as there may not be sufficient cash in the cashbox. If it happens then you may have to wait longer than you have planned.

Cashing Money Orders at the Bank

Cashing money order at banks is another option open to you.

• Go to any bank and present your photo identity and the US postal money order, at the proper counter, to get your cash. However, the bank has the right to refuse it for a person who is not its client.
• You can also present it at your bank and get the amount deposited in your bank account.
• It may happen that the money order that you received was issued by the same bank or one of its branches, in such case, your bank will cash it for you.
• If the money order was issued by a money order service such as, Western Union, even then it can be cashed at your personal bank and money deposited in your account.
• What happens if you receive an international money order i.e. the one which was sent from another country? There are only a few domestic banks which allow such money orders to be cashed and they charge you more for it.

Cashing Money Orders at the Other Places

If you fail to cash your money order for at the bank or post office for any reason, there is no need to panic, as there are few other options open for you.

• You can present your money order and identification at any of the local check cashing service and get it cashed. These services will definitely charge you for doing so. You may have to search around, in order to save money on these charges.
• You can get a postal money order cashed at a grocery or beverage store, or at a convenience store. You can get your money order cashed at these places for nominal or no charge at all.

If the sender of the money order intimates you the details, immediately after sending it, you can use them for the purpose of money order tracking. This will tell you how much time it will need to reach, so that, you can make yourself available to receive it. Utilize this time to locate your documents, if they are not handy. As you can see, at each establishment you have to present your photo identification proofs to get a money order cashed, so be prepared with it.