Cashier's Check vs Money Order: Limits, Fees and Safety

Who stands behind the payment

A cashier's check is drawn on the bank that issues it. You pay the bank, and the bank writes a check on its own funds. HelpWithMyBank.gov, the consumer site of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), says that is why the bank must pay it when it is presented.

A money order is a prepaid payment for a fixed amount. You hand over the amount plus a fee and get a paper order made out to the receiver. The best documented example is the postal money order sold at every Post Office, and the rules below are the USPS rules. Banks and stores sell their own money orders with their own fees and limits.

USPS money orders: limits and fees

The USPS caps one domestic money order at $1,000. The issuing fee depends on the amount:

You pay with cash or a debit card; the USPS does not take credit cards for money orders. To send more than $1,000, you buy several orders, and each one carries its own fee. Splitting into full $1,000 orders plus one for the rest:

Past a few thousand dollars the fees add up and you carry a stack of paper. A single cashier's check or a bank transfer avoids that. The guide to ACH vs wire transfer covers the electronic options.

The receiver can cash a postal money order at any Post Office for free. The USPS says not to sign it beforehand: bring a photo ID and sign at the counter. Most banks and some stores also cash them.

Filling one in

Keep the receipt, because the USPS asks for it if the order goes missing. If the form asks for the amount in words, or you are writing a check alongside it, the number to words tool spells out any amount, such as $1,500.00 as one thousand five hundred dollars.

When one is lost or stolen

Neither payment can simply be cancelled. The OCC says a customer generally cannot stop payment on a cashier's check, and the USPS says you cannot stop payment on postal money orders.

• Lost cashier's check. The bank will typically ask you to get an indemnity bond for the amount of the lost check before it issues a replacement. The OCC describes the bond as a type of insurance policy that makes you, not the bank, liable if the old check is cashed. Bonds can be hard to get, and after you hand one in the bank may wait 30 to 90 days before replacing the check.
• Lost postal money order. Take your receipt to a Post Office and start a Money Order Inquiry. The replacement fee is $23.00. Confirming the loss can take up to 30 days and the investigation up to 60 days.

If someone else gave you the cashier's check and you lost it, the OCC suggests asking them to buy you another one first.

Fake checks: the pattern to know

Because people trust cashier's checks and money orders, scammers fake them. The FTC describes the same script again and again: a stranger sends a check for more than you are owed and asks you to send the difference back, or pass it on, for a reason such as taxes on a prize, supplies for a new job or an overpayment for something you sold.

Take an item listed for $450. The buyer sends a $2,950 check and asks you to return $2,500 to a shipper. The bank shows the deposit, you send the $2,500, and the check later bounces. The bank reverses the $2,950 deposit, and the money you sent is gone.

Two rules make this work for the scammer. The OCC says a cashier's check deposited in person with a bank employee generally must be available by the next business day, with exceptions. The FTC says it can take weeks for a bank to discover a fake. Seeing the money in your account does not mean the check is good. If it turns out to be fraudulent, the bank can take the amount back out of your account and may charge an overdraft fee if that leaves it negative.

Warning signs from the FTC page:

• Someone you do not know asks you to deposit a check and send part of it back.
• The check is for more than the price or more than you are owed.
• You are told to pay fees or taxes to collect a prize.
• You are asked to buy gift cards or money orders, or to wire money, with the funds.

Report fake checks to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, or to your state attorney general.

Which one to use

• Up to about $1,000, no bank account needed: a postal money order. The fee is at most $3.75, and you can pay cash.
• Large one-off amounts: a cashier's check from your bank, or a transfer if the receiver accepts it.
• Receiving either from a stranger: verify it with the issuer before you hand over goods or send any money back.

Personal checks have their own timing rules; see how long a bank can hold a check and how long a check is valid.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• USPS, Money Orders ($1,000 limit per order in the US; fees $2.65, $3.75 and $0.85 military; cash or debit only; free cashing at Post Offices; $23.00 replacement fee; up to 30 and 60 days; no stop payment)
• HelpWithMyBank.gov (OCC), Can I put a stop payment order on a cashier's check? (generally not; drawn on the bank)
• HelpWithMyBank.gov (OCC), Lost cashier's check and indemnity bond (bond for the check amount; waiting period of 30 to 90 days)
• HelpWithMyBank.gov (OCC), Hold on a cashier's check that turned out to be fraudulent (next business day in person; exceptions; reversal of the deposit)
• FTC, How to spot, avoid and report fake check scams (overpayment pattern; can take weeks to spot a fake; where to report)

General information based on the sources above, not tax, legal or financial advice.

Written by Tobias. Updated October 30, 2026.