Jan 1, 2018, 10:53 am
Last edit by: wyogold
This is the thread for 2018. The previous discussion can be found here.
The 2019 thread can be found here
New to MO: Read this entire Wiki (Click to open) and all posts for some tips before asking common questions. It is best to know what you are doing before you try.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tested Gebit cards:
1. DO NOT WORK - Any Vanilla product affiliated with InComm or ITC Financial Services will not work for swipes over $49.99.
2. Visas issued by MetaBank work great.
3. MC issued by US bank work good, but you need to change payment type to debit before they enter the amount in the register. See below for details.
5. Gdot/sun work but take about an hour to activate.
NEW Limits as of 11/18 - 8K with ID every 24 hours. ID required for MO over 1K.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________
Some tips for starting out:
All WM registers allow 4 debit swipes per transaction, but YMMV per store and cashier. Refer to cards as Debit cards.
Start slow and buy one MO with one Gebit to see how it works. Refer to cards as Debit, only this community calls them Gebits. Your store or cashier may have rules that other stores do not have, only allowing one swipe per trans or up to 4 swipes per trans. Read all the tips below and all the posts below before trying more advanced transactions. NO variety or design of VISA or MC Gebit's will ever auto-drain at Walmart so always tell them the amount you want to pay per card. Fee: 1K MO or less is usually 88 cents each, but ask or check the wall. Subtract the fee from the total or pay in cash. If a store says "no", thank them and try again another day with a different clerk.
Helpful details and tips for advanced transactions:
1. Cost: 1K MO fee is usually 88 cents each(Some states limit MO total to 750 or 950 and may have a different fee). Subtract fee from your total or pay in cash. Can buy two 1K MO in one transaction with 4 swipes for 88 cents x 2 in most states. NO variety or design of VISA or MC Gebit's will ever auto-drain at Walmart so always tell them the amount you want to pay per card.
2. Split payment transcations: You cannot successfully swipe more than 4 cards in a single transaction. If the cashier screws up and enters $50.00 instead of $500.00 (thus making it impossible for 4 swipes to complete the transaction), the transaction will need to be canceled. The funds should return to your cards right away but may take 24 hours, so note the time and person helping you. When a transaction is canceled during the trans, the money returns to the cards. If canceled after, the cash reg drawer opens and they pay you back in cash.
3. Split payment: The amount of each swipe needs to be entered by the cashier. Ask to "split the payment by $$$". The Gebit must have current balance of that amount or more otherwise slip with Error 51 will print out. Warning: (YMMV) It appears (my experience on 3 occasions during prepaid card load and buying MO in 2 different WMs) that after the debit card was charged no cash could be credited back to the card. Cashier should issue cash back. Keep the slip and contact manager if in doubt. Remember date, time and register if no slip.
4. Bad Printer: IF, by chance, you've swiped your GCs successfully, a receipt prints but the MO doesn't, make sure to ask to see the receipt and check near the bottom IF it says CHANGE/REFUND with a negative sign before the amount of GCs you swiped, that means the cashier must give you cash refund. Cashier may have to call for the cash dept manager to verify the refund. Some stores may outright give your cash refund immediately while there are others that will ask you to come back. Think twice before you buy MOs while on vacation or when you're in unknown to you territories for issues like this.
5. Kiosk: Very few Kate's can sell money orders anymore.>>>>Sometime 2016, a lot of WM supercenters have done away with Kate (kiosks that allows loading of prepaids/sell $500 MOs). As of today, MOST, if not ALL WMs, have replaced this with the regular slim ATM to check balance/withdraw money.
6. MCGC liquidation- The cashier should not enter the amount first. Technically they just can't hit enter after entering the amount. Let the CSR know you need to swipe first and switch the payment type to debit, then swipe and hit "Cancel" or "Change Payment" to select "Debit" on the screen, enter the pin and have them enter the amount.
Debit codes PDF
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/attac...0&d=1461170080
The 2019 thread can be found here
New to MO: Read this entire Wiki (Click to open) and all posts for some tips before asking common questions. It is best to know what you are doing before you try.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tested Gebit cards:
1. DO NOT WORK - Any Vanilla product affiliated with InComm or ITC Financial Services will not work for swipes over $49.99.
2. Visas issued by MetaBank work great.
3. MC issued by US bank work good, but you need to change payment type to debit before they enter the amount in the register. See below for details.
5. Gdot/sun work but take about an hour to activate.
NEW Limits as of 11/18 - 8K with ID every 24 hours. ID required for MO over 1K.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________
Some tips for starting out:
All WM registers allow 4 debit swipes per transaction, but YMMV per store and cashier. Refer to cards as Debit cards.
Start slow and buy one MO with one Gebit to see how it works. Refer to cards as Debit, only this community calls them Gebits. Your store or cashier may have rules that other stores do not have, only allowing one swipe per trans or up to 4 swipes per trans. Read all the tips below and all the posts below before trying more advanced transactions. NO variety or design of VISA or MC Gebit's will ever auto-drain at Walmart so always tell them the amount you want to pay per card. Fee: 1K MO or less is usually 88 cents each, but ask or check the wall. Subtract the fee from the total or pay in cash. If a store says "no", thank them and try again another day with a different clerk.
Helpful details and tips for advanced transactions:
1. Cost: 1K MO fee is usually 88 cents each(Some states limit MO total to 750 or 950 and may have a different fee). Subtract fee from your total or pay in cash. Can buy two 1K MO in one transaction with 4 swipes for 88 cents x 2 in most states. NO variety or design of VISA or MC Gebit's will ever auto-drain at Walmart so always tell them the amount you want to pay per card.
2. Split payment transcations: You cannot successfully swipe more than 4 cards in a single transaction. If the cashier screws up and enters $50.00 instead of $500.00 (thus making it impossible for 4 swipes to complete the transaction), the transaction will need to be canceled. The funds should return to your cards right away but may take 24 hours, so note the time and person helping you. When a transaction is canceled during the trans, the money returns to the cards. If canceled after, the cash reg drawer opens and they pay you back in cash.
3. Split payment: The amount of each swipe needs to be entered by the cashier. Ask to "split the payment by $$$". The Gebit must have current balance of that amount or more otherwise slip with Error 51 will print out. Warning: (YMMV) It appears (my experience on 3 occasions during prepaid card load and buying MO in 2 different WMs) that after the debit card was charged no cash could be credited back to the card. Cashier should issue cash back. Keep the slip and contact manager if in doubt. Remember date, time and register if no slip.
4. Bad Printer: IF, by chance, you've swiped your GCs successfully, a receipt prints but the MO doesn't, make sure to ask to see the receipt and check near the bottom IF it says CHANGE/REFUND with a negative sign before the amount of GCs you swiped, that means the cashier must give you cash refund. Cashier may have to call for the cash dept manager to verify the refund. Some stores may outright give your cash refund immediately while there are others that will ask you to come back. Think twice before you buy MOs while on vacation or when you're in unknown to you territories for issues like this.
5. Kiosk: Very few Kate's can sell money orders anymore.>>>>Sometime 2016, a lot of WM supercenters have done away with Kate (kiosks that allows loading of prepaids/sell $500 MOs). As of today, MOST, if not ALL WMs, have replaced this with the regular slim ATM to check balance/withdraw money.
6. MCGC liquidation- The cashier should not enter the amount first. Technically they just can't hit enter after entering the amount. Let the CSR know you need to swipe first and switch the payment type to debit, then swipe and hit "Cancel" or "Change Payment" to select "Debit" on the screen, enter the pin and have them enter the amount.
Debit codes PDF
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/attac...0&d=1461170080
Buying Money Orders at Walmart (2018)
Mar 17, 2018, 4:43 pm
#511
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: SAN
Programs: Delta Gold. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Explorist.
Posts: 1,674
There is no doubt that this game is easier in small towns than big cities. Heck, if we all thought it would last a few more years, there would probably be more flyertalkers moving out to the country. 
Does anyone know if this MO thing is actually profitable for Walmart? 88 cents still isn't big money. I would think there was much more money in those wire transfers I always see (especially with more than 7 percent of the USA population being illegal aliens).
And I wonder how much fraud is connected to redeeming gift cards for MOs, which I presume Walmart has some liability for. Is this a transaction that fraudsters/criminals actually do?
Does anyone know if this MO thing is actually profitable for Walmart? 88 cents still isn't big money. I would think there was much more money in those wire transfers I always see (especially with more than 7 percent of the USA population being illegal aliens).
And I wonder how much fraud is connected to redeeming gift cards for MOs, which I presume Walmart has some liability for. Is this a transaction that fraudsters/criminals actually do?
Mar 17, 2018, 9:42 pm
#512
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: IAH
Programs: DL DM, Hyatt Ist-iest, Stariott Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 12,792
Mar 20, 2018, 8:22 pm
#513
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 889
Back to the new method with slip signing although no gift certificate language on the mo at my wm
Mar 20, 2018, 9:12 pm
#514
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: Hilton, Hyatt, Priority, SPG - AA, Hawaiian Airline, United, US Airline
Posts: 608
Today, I went to a WM to buy MO with Visa. Before I didn't need to hit "Cancel" button, it would automatically debit. But today, when I swipe my Visa, it shows credit on a cashier side, and he asks me to show my card. Then he wont allow me to buy MO. I can't go to this WM anymore because of my stupid today. Do you guys have the same problem? why Visa doesn't work?
Mar 20, 2018, 10:05 pm
#515
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 662
Today, I went to a WM to buy MO with Visa. Before I didn't need to hit "Cancel" button, it would automatically debit. But today, when I swipe my Visa, it shows credit on a cashier side, and he asks me to show my card. Then he wont allow me to buy MO. I can't go to this WM anymore because of my stupid today. Do you guys have the same problem? why Visa doesn't work?
Mar 20, 2018, 10:37 pm
#516
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: SAN
Programs: Delta Gold. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Explorist.
Posts: 1,674
Today, I went to a WM to buy MO with Visa. Before I didn't need to hit "Cancel" button, it would automatically debit. But today, when I swipe my Visa, it shows credit on a cashier side, and he asks me to show my card. Then he wont allow me to buy MO. I can't go to this WM anymore because of my stupid today. Do you guys have the same problem? why Visa doesn't work?
Maybe go back to that store when a different cashier is working?
Mar 20, 2018, 10:50 pm
#517
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: Hilton, Hyatt, Priority, SPG - AA, Hawaiian Airline, United, US Airline
Posts: 608
It is US bank. I bought at Ralph. It was my first time I had the problem. It worked fine 2 days ago at Walmart.
Mar 20, 2018, 11:32 pm
#518
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: SAN
Programs: Delta Gold. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Explorist.
Posts: 1,674
US bank gift cards from Ralph's are notorious for problems. Sometimes the cards don't activate properly, and sometimes the magnetic strip just doesn't work right. If nothing is wrong with the card, it should work at Walmart.
Mar 21, 2018, 7:56 am
#520
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,423
I'd say it's profitable, but barely. The Moneycenter business for WM is probably profitable overall given the high charges for Western Union and Walmart 2 Walmart transfers. But as ChrisFlyer alludes, it's probably just to keep people in WM and in their ecosystem. Cash your check at WM, buy your groceries there, buy your MO to pay your rent there, send money to your family there, etc. It's also why I avoid WM on certain days of the month: the 1st, 15th, last day, and Fridays. Rent days and pay days are a no go for me. Way too many people at the moneycenter.
It is a shame about the unpredictability of the MO process these days. My go to store keeps insisting I can only swipe 1 debit card per MO. That's annoying, especially when -- like last week -- I got a bunch of $200 VGCs at Office Depot. Walmart used to be the best place to unload GCs but, for me, it's now not as good as the supermarkets.
Mar 21, 2018, 9:51 am
#521
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: AA, UAL
Posts: 545
Cheers!
Mar 21, 2018, 12:12 pm
#522
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 1999
Posts: 24,153
Yup, Fridays are pretty much "no go" days for me at Walmart. If you're an early riser and have the schedule flexibility, early mornings are the most predictable if your goal is to get in and out as fast as possible.
It is a shame about the unpredictability of the MO process these days. My go to store keeps insisting I can only swipe 1 debit card per MO. That's annoying, especially when -- like last week -- I got a bunch of $200 VGCs at Office Depot. Walmart used to be the best place to unload GCs but, for me, it's now not as good as the supermarkets.
It is a shame about the unpredictability of the MO process these days. My go to store keeps insisting I can only swipe 1 debit card per MO. That's annoying, especially when -- like last week -- I got a bunch of $200 VGCs at Office Depot. Walmart used to be the best place to unload GCs but, for me, it's now not as good as the supermarkets.
Mar 21, 2018, 12:30 pm
#523
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 66
Smaller banks are exempt and the interchange fees for them can be up to .8% plus $.15 per swipe. This is why almost all debit GCs are issued by Metabank, Sunrise, and other smaller banks. For an MSer paying for an MO with two $500 Metabanks, Walmart is paying at least $8.3 to process their cards.
So MOs might be a little profitable, but they're probably sold to get people in the door to generate other sales. MSers are definitely costing WM money though, and it makes financial sense for them to block it. Some stores have started telling me they only accept debit cards from major banks now, and I'm suspecting it's as much a financial decision as a fraud concern.
Mar 21, 2018, 12:42 pm
#524
Join Date: May 2014
Location: LAX
Programs: AA, UA, DL, NSA, CIA, MIB
Posts: 537
Today, I went to a WM to buy MO with Visa. Before I didn't need to hit "Cancel" button, it would automatically debit. But today, when I swipe my Visa, it shows credit on a cashier side, and he asks me to show my card. Then he wont allow me to buy MO. I can't go to this WM anymore because of my stupid today. Do you guys have the same problem? why Visa doesn't work?
Mar 21, 2018, 12:58 pm
#525
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 889
Sending money WM to WM , now THAT is profitable. Saw a guy this morning spending $108 in cash to send $100 ($8 fee) to a WM in CA. The poor stay poor. Crazy.