# whats the difference between a money order and a cashiers check?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-money-order-and-a-cashiers-check/9096>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 9, 1999, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-money-order-and-a-cashiers-check/9096 "1999-10-09T18:59:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![chief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@chief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chief)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 1999, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-money-order-and-a-cashiers-check/9096/1 "1999-10-09T18:59:00Z")

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i never really knew what a cashiers check was

* * *

Chief’s Domain - [http://www.seas.ucla.edu/~ravi](http://www.seas.ucla.edu/~ravi)

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**Author:** ![funneefarmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@funneefarmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funneefarmer)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 1999, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-money-order-and-a-cashiers-check/9096/2 "1999-10-09T19:04:00Z")

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A check drawn on the bank’s account rather than your’s. A certified check is your check with a bank’s added promise that they will honor it.

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**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 1999, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-money-order-and-a-cashiers-check/9096/3 "1999-10-10T04:32:00Z")

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And a money order has nothing to do with bank accounts. You can purchase one at a bank, but also at a post office or many stores.

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**Author:** ![BugZap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b77776/32.png) [@BugZap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BugZap)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 1999, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-money-order-and-a-cashiers-check/9096/4 "1999-10-10T05:15:00Z")

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You buy a cashiers check, and change your mind, you can immediately turn around and cash it back. Minus their percentage for handling the transaction, of course.  
If you really need to, and sometimes you might.

A money order, you might have to wait until they actually collect the money, before they’ll credit your account.

Cashiers checks= cash.  
Certified checks= cash, but can only be cashed after verified.  
Money orders, more common, but also more suseptible to fraud.  
Cashed, and credited, only after verification.

Got an ID?