Jan 31, 2017, 9:50 pm
Last edit by: shdflyer
11/3/17: The vast majority of popular prepaid debit cards are now blocked via a register hardcode at most locations.
This is the thread for 2017. The previous discussion can be found here.
Newbies: READ for days and learn before trying. It is best to know what you are doing, so start slow. Refer to cards as "Debit" not gc.
"Money orders can be purchased at any Post Office™ location.
Pay for your money order with cash, debit card, or traveler’s checks."
Fees:
$0.01 to $500.00: $1.20
$500.01 to $1,000.00: $1.60
Most post offices allow split payment (multiple debit cards) for one money order up to a max of $1000.
Example of how to split payment:
1. "One MO please for $998.40. Id like to pay with 2 debit cards, $500 on each."
2. Swipe first card and enter pin.
3. Remind teller that its "$500 on that card". They will change the amount on their screen to $500. Transaction goes through and a small receipt prints.
4. Swipe 2nd card, enter pin.
5. Done.
Note: If you encounter a problem with the second card and have to cancel the transaction, it can be very difficult to recover your funds on the first card. Always have a back-up payment method available (bank debit card or cash).
GC Information: The fine print on the back of the package shows the bank issuer. Don't buy GCs with tampered packaging and always use cards ASAP.
Visa OneVanilla and Vanilla GC issued by Bancorp work at PO.
Visa/MC Gift Cards issued by MetaBank have not had any success at MOST USPS anywhere in the country since around September 2016.
These will NOT work if the clerk uses a touchscreen
These MAY work, and often do, at small, rural post offices where clerks do not have touch screens.
Visa Gift Cards from Walmart issued by Green Dot have stopped working for MO purchases for some.
GAME MOSTLY OVER, MOST USPO are HARD CODED to NOT ACCEPT NON BANK DEBIT CARDS
Exception seems to be small, rural post offices where clerks do not use touch screens.
This is the thread for 2017. The previous discussion can be found here.
Newbies: READ for days and learn before trying. It is best to know what you are doing, so start slow. Refer to cards as "Debit" not gc.
"Money orders can be purchased at any Post Office™ location.
Pay for your money order with cash, debit card, or traveler’s checks."
Fees:
$0.01 to $500.00: $1.20
$500.01 to $1,000.00: $1.60
Most post offices allow split payment (multiple debit cards) for one money order up to a max of $1000.
Example of how to split payment:
1. "One MO please for $998.40. Id like to pay with 2 debit cards, $500 on each."
2. Swipe first card and enter pin.
3. Remind teller that its "$500 on that card". They will change the amount on their screen to $500. Transaction goes through and a small receipt prints.
4. Swipe 2nd card, enter pin.
5. Done.
Note: If you encounter a problem with the second card and have to cancel the transaction, it can be very difficult to recover your funds on the first card. Always have a back-up payment method available (bank debit card or cash).
GC Information: The fine print on the back of the package shows the bank issuer. Don't buy GCs with tampered packaging and always use cards ASAP.
Visa OneVanilla and Vanilla GC issued by Bancorp work at PO.
Visa/MC Gift Cards issued by MetaBank have not had any success at MOST USPS anywhere in the country since around September 2016.
These will NOT work if the clerk uses a touchscreen
These MAY work, and often do, at small, rural post offices where clerks do not have touch screens.
Visa Gift Cards from Walmart issued by Green Dot have stopped working for MO purchases for some.
GAME MOSTLY OVER, MOST USPO are HARD CODED to NOT ACCEPT NON BANK DEBIT CARDS
Exception seems to be small, rural post offices where clerks do not use touch screens.
Buy MO's at Post Office(2017-2018)[Gift Cards no Longer Allowed]
Nov 14, 2017, 7:59 pm
#1276
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 506
Afraid that CarlosRodrigue does make a good point. Was the new USPS preventative internal control rolled out to all facilities or not? Would be interesting to know if they missed a unicorn, perhaps a unicorn living in some remote territory. (Just don't post the zipcode of that territory) 
Nov 15, 2017, 8:03 am
#1278
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Meh - I'm just a postal outsider who has lived in two of the top 10 money laundering cities in the US and visited several of the top money laundering centers in the world. My humble opinion as an old fraud examiner and auditor is that you would have to be crazy to launder money by buying postal money orders using gift cards when real estate transactions are much more efficient. You will find no better way to flip money than by flipping real estate. Why would the transactions of the MS folk be suspicious when they engage in transparent arbitrage and capitalism? What next, will the USPS try to kill transactions when MS folk use bank account debit cards? Would the USPS folk file PS Forms 8105-A & 8105-B if the MS folk start buying 5 cent stamps with a bank account debit card paying 10 cents per transaction or buying money orders with a bank account debit card paying 1 mile per dollar of money order purchased? 
The way I see it is the only thing suspicious here is how the USPS will try to justify their next rate increase after turning away customers from legally buying their products.
The way I see it is the only thing suspicious here is how the USPS will try to justify their next rate increase after turning away customers from legally buying their products.
USPS card terminals/software has been changed recently. It is coded to reject debit gift cards. As an insider, if you manage to find cards that work, please be aware PS Forms 8105-A & 8105-B do get filed after the customer has left if employee deems the customer has instituted a "suspicious transaction". Forms do get sent to law enforcement for investigation of "money laundering"
Nov 15, 2017, 12:57 pm
#1279
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,933
Meh - I'm just a postal outsider who has lived in two of the top 10 money laundering cities in the US and visited several of the top money laundering centers in the world. My humble opinion as an old fraud examiner and auditor is that you would have to be crazy to launder money by buying postal money orders using gift cards when real estate transactions are much more efficient. You will find no better way to flip money than by flipping real estate.
Debit gift cards were not designed to be used in large quantities by the same person at the same merchant. Their intended use was to give one as a gift here, give another as a gift there, and the gift recipient (as an average person) would use it on some combination of stuff until it was all used up, not all of it one merchant than another all of it of another gift at the same and then all of another gift card at another merchant.
And the problem with debit gift cards to any merchant seeing a lot of them is that their ownership is too hard to verify.
MSers too often don't realize just how different their activity looks than any other people's legal activity. And thus the only other thing it looks like is illegal activity.
The average merchant doesn't have the imagination to figure out a legal reason why someone would need to bring in a stack of gift cards and buy money orders for the full amount on all of them. It just does not occur much in the non-MS world, and the average person knows nothing about MS (plus even if they knew, many would think it was crazy and doesn't need to be supported).
Nov 15, 2017, 1:34 pm
#1280
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: NY
Programs: SPG preferred, AA, United
Posts: 290
It doesn't matter what other more efficient ways of money laundering there are. To the USPS, all that matters is whether something that uSPS sells can be used for money laundering, even if only inefficently, even if only by a small fraction of the stupidest money-launderers.
The USPS doesn't care about MS folk one way or the other. What they stopped was debit gift cards. The issue (to a merchant) is that debit gift cards don't have your name on them, and so it's harder to verify that they weren't stolen. I bet all that happened is that MSers brought up the level of debit gift card use the USPS to the point where USPS said: "wait a second, this is becoming a significant part of our business, and we can't tell if these cards really belong to the people who are using them, so lets just lock this out".
Debit gift cards were not designed to be used in large quantities by the same person at the same merchant. Their intended use was to give one as a gift here, give another as a gift there, and the gift recipient (as an average person) would use it on some combination of stuff until it was all used up, not all of it one merchant than another all of it of another gift at the same and then all of another gift card at another merchant.
And the problem with debit gift cards to any merchant seeing a lot of them is that their ownership is too hard to verify.
MSers too often don't realize just how different their activity looks than any other people's legal activity. And thus the only other thing it looks like is illegal activity.
The average merchant doesn't have the imagination to figure out a legal reason why someone would need to bring in a stack of gift cards and buy money orders for the full amount on all of them. It just does not occur much in the non-MS world, and the average person knows nothing about MS (plus even if they knew, many would think it was crazy and doesn't need to be supported).
The USPS doesn't care about MS folk one way or the other. What they stopped was debit gift cards. The issue (to a merchant) is that debit gift cards don't have your name on them, and so it's harder to verify that they weren't stolen. I bet all that happened is that MSers brought up the level of debit gift card use the USPS to the point where USPS said: "wait a second, this is becoming a significant part of our business, and we can't tell if these cards really belong to the people who are using them, so lets just lock this out".
Debit gift cards were not designed to be used in large quantities by the same person at the same merchant. Their intended use was to give one as a gift here, give another as a gift there, and the gift recipient (as an average person) would use it on some combination of stuff until it was all used up, not all of it one merchant than another all of it of another gift at the same and then all of another gift card at another merchant.
And the problem with debit gift cards to any merchant seeing a lot of them is that their ownership is too hard to verify.
MSers too often don't realize just how different their activity looks than any other people's legal activity. And thus the only other thing it looks like is illegal activity.
The average merchant doesn't have the imagination to figure out a legal reason why someone would need to bring in a stack of gift cards and buy money orders for the full amount on all of them. It just does not occur much in the non-MS world, and the average person knows nothing about MS (plus even if they knew, many would think it was crazy and doesn't need to be supported).
Nov 15, 2017, 1:52 pm
#1281
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: SFO
Programs: OZ Diamond/*G, IHG Diamond Amb, Hilton Gold
Posts: 2,239
I don't think it's about money laundering, I think it's more about scams. Look at the message you have to click on every time you buy these at CVS now. It has been an ongoing scam that has gotten worse recently where people are contacted by scammers posing as the IRS telling them that they did not fulfill their tax obligations and that the IRS will be pressing criminal charges but they can get off the hook by sending in VGCs. These VGCs are then cashed out via the PO or other liquidation channels.
Nov 15, 2017, 4:13 pm
#1282
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: NY
Programs: SPG preferred, AA, United
Posts: 290
I don't think it's about money laundering, I think it's more about scams. Look at the message you have to click on every time you buy these at CVS now. It has been an ongoing scam that has gotten worse recently where people are contacted by scammers posing as the IRS telling them that they did not fulfill their tax obligations and that the IRS will be pressing criminal charges but they can get off the hook by sending in VGCs. These VGCs are then cashed out via the PO or other liquidation channels.
Anyway my point is that this has nothing to do with scammers or money laundering. I think this has more to do with the fact that we take up a small chunk of time with the PO and occasionally have a bad card which might mess with the system. There are users here that post that they only do 500 at a time which means going back and forth. Are they being more cautious probably but only for themselves. In the end they are taking up more time then someone who does 1k at a time if that makes sense. I know its probably a small time difference but just a thought.
Nov 15, 2017, 9:33 pm
#1283
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Time for the USPS Christmas Gift Exchange?
Oye - can you imagine the fun one could have at the postal counter during the holidays MSing with a RBFCU debit card buying individual 5 cent stamps and earning a legal 10 cents ( 100% profit) on each transaction? Donating all profits to charity, making for a wonderful Christmas news story. Thinking about that kinda puts one in the proper holiday spirit.
But is that the job of the PO to monitor? I think CVS has it because of the relationship between the CC company and CVS. Lots of chargebacks etc. I think you are insinuating that CVS and CC company knew that everyone went to the PO after buying from them. PO stopping MSers doesn't stop the scammers from scamming is my point. If a scammer has a $500 gc then they have $500 more then they had a few minutes ago. They can use it to purchase anything they want. For MSers we are trying to unload and payback our cc.
Anyway my point is that this has nothing to do with scammers or money laundering. I think this has more to do with the fact that we take up a small chunk of time with the PO and occasionally have a bad card which might mess with the system. There are users here that post that they only do 500 at a time which means going back and forth. Are they being more cautious probably but only for themselves. In the end they are taking up more time then someone who does 1k at a time if that makes sense. I know its probably a small time difference but just a thought.
Anyway my point is that this has nothing to do with scammers or money laundering. I think this has more to do with the fact that we take up a small chunk of time with the PO and occasionally have a bad card which might mess with the system. There are users here that post that they only do 500 at a time which means going back and forth. Are they being more cautious probably but only for themselves. In the end they are taking up more time then someone who does 1k at a time if that makes sense. I know its probably a small time difference but just a thought.
Nov 15, 2017, 9:48 pm
#1284
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Meh - the only sure way to get rid of IRS scams is to get rid of the IRS. Loaded USPS MO's don't scam people - people scam people.
BTW, the Declaration of Independence mentions we citizens have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What authority does a governmental monopoly have to deprive us of the happiness we get legally MSing. Perhaps Jeff Sessions needs to do a little investigating into whether we have an illegal PostalGate going on here.
BTW, the Declaration of Independence mentions we citizens have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What authority does a governmental monopoly have to deprive us of the happiness we get legally MSing. Perhaps Jeff Sessions needs to do a little investigating into whether we have an illegal PostalGate going on here.
I don't think it's about money laundering, I think it's more about scams. Look at the message you have to click on every time you buy these at CVS now. It has been an ongoing scam that has gotten worse recently where people are contacted by scammers posing as the IRS telling them that they did not fulfill their tax obligations and that the IRS will be pressing criminal charges but they can get off the hook by sending in VGCs. These VGCs are then cashed out via the PO or other liquidation channels.
Nov 16, 2017, 8:43 am
#1285
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 21
I hadn't been keeping up with this thread, and I last made a successful purchase at the end of October. When I tried yesterday, the clerk who knew exactly what I'd been doing for months and had always been friendly told me the card was coding as credit and he had no way to change it to debit. He told me to swipe a different card, but that one gave him the same error. He looked at me all confused, as if he expected me to have a magic bullet to somehow make his computer system work in my favor. I noticed the screen had changed from how it had always been previously (when it worked) and I asked if there had been any system updates lately. He told me management upgraded the payment software about two weeks ago.
I said, "party's over," and he started cracking up in laughter. Then I went home and cried.
I said, "party's over," and he started cracking up in laughter. Then I went home and cried.
Nov 16, 2017, 1:41 pm
#1287
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: NY
Programs: SPG preferred, AA, United
Posts: 290
Oye - can you imagine the fun one could have at the postal counter during the holidays MSing with a RBFCU debit card buying individual 5 cent stamps and earning a legal 10 cents ( 100% profit) on each transaction? Donating all profits to charity, making for a wonderful Christmas news story. Thinking about that kinda puts one in the proper holiday spirit.
Nov 17, 2017, 12:16 am
#1289
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Programs: AAdvantage Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 132
Nov 17, 2017, 9:32 am
#1290
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: SoCal (ONT), PVD/BOS, JAX, RSW
Programs: AA/US PlatPro & 1.05MM, DL Plat (challenge), UA dirt
Posts: 3,189
It also depends on the clerk and how busy the store is. If one shows up, say, during the afternoon/evening rush, and the clerk is just a non-managerial employee, they really don't want to waste their time verifying cards. It's totally a YMMV situation, and took about 4-5 different SB's to figure out which ones to go to.