How to fill out a money order
October 9, 2011 6:50 PM   Subscribe

Do you need to include your account number on money orders?

I bought something from someone on deviantart, and she only accepted cash, check, and money orders. I've never filled one out before and i looked around on google and they explained what to fill in where pretty well, but some of them said i needed to leave my account number on it as well.

Is that just if your paying to a business, or anytime you use a money order?
posted by ohtimorousme to Work & Money (7 answers total)
 
No, you don't. You can go to the post office and exchange cash for a money order. You are not obligated to have any sort of bank account, just enough cash to pay for the money order.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 6:55 PM on October 9, 2011 [2 favorites]


To add to the above:
Just make sure the person who receives the money order knows what it's for.
posted by luckynerd at 6:58 PM on October 9, 2011


If you're paying a bill, you'd put your account number on the money order so that if it get separated from the payment coupon, they know whose account to apply the funds to. If you're sending it to a small volume deviant art merchant she might not have as much of a problem keeping track of it as a megacorp processing millions of checks/money orders etc.

It is the same as the memo line of a check. Optional unless you want to make sure the recipient knows what it is for. In your deviantart example, you might put the order number on it. Or make sure your name (or username) is clearly legible.
posted by birdherder at 7:00 PM on October 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thank you! That was very helpful :) I may just write on a piece of paper so she'll know its me, and stick it in the envelope with the money order.
posted by ohtimorousme at 7:02 PM on October 9, 2011


Out of curiosity, if the merchant will accept a personal check, why not just do that instead? Seems like there's no real value in paying the fees for a money order if you don't have to, though USPS money orders are pretty cheap (some banks charge exorbitant fees).
posted by zachlipton at 8:30 PM on October 9, 2011


Out of curiosity, if the merchant will accept a personal check, why not just do that instead?

Not everyone has a checkbook these days. I don't, and I don't really intend to order a bunch of checks either. I've had to send a physical money order (or check if I had them) less than a handful of times in the decade I've had a checking account.
posted by asciident at 8:35 PM on October 9, 2011


My bank charges $0.50 for a single unpersonalized cheque. But every time I have asked for one they say, "We're supposed to charge you $0.50, but I'll just give it to you."
posted by it's a long way to south america at 12:52 AM on October 10, 2011


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