Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Credit, Debit and Prepaid Card Programs > Manufactured Spending
Reload this Page >

Buying Money Orders at Walmart (2019 - 2022)

Community
Wiki Posts
Search
Old Jan 2, 2019, 9:51 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: danpeake
As of Nov 11, 2020, Meta gebits are getting declined when used for MO/BP purchases at MC/SD. New limit appears to be $99 per swipe with some metas at some stores. READ the posts below and add a data point with details. USB and GD gift cards do not seem to be affected.

This is the thread for 2019. The previous discussion can be found here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manu...rt-2018-a.html

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.

Note: The policy for allowing gift cards as payment for money orders can be more restrictive with certain stores or certain clerks. Just because an employee says there's a new restrictive policy "for all Walmarts" means nothing. There are plenty of cases where the employee is incorrect and the new policy is only regional or store specific.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tested Gebit (gift debit) cards:
1. DO NOT WORK - Any Vanilla product affiliated with InComm or ITC Financial Services will not work for swipes over $49.99.
2. See above on Visas issued by MetaBank. New limit appears to be $99 per swipe with some metas at some stores. Follow the posts below for the latest information.
3. MC issued by US bank OR Metabank MC (Giftcards.com) can work, but you need to change payment type to debit before they enter the amount in the register. See below for details.
4. Gdot/sun work but take about an hour to activate.(VGC issued by Sunrise also limited to $99/swipe, same as Metabank issued cards, and Sunrise was available immediately).
5. USB work
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________
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 $1 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 $1 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 transactions: 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. Kates are a distant and pleasant memory now.

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.

7. SSN/ID entry - Any MO purchases in one transaction at or over $3K requires you to input your SSN. Any MO at or over $1K requires ID input (and ID requirement can also be forced by cashier at any amount).



Debit codes PDF
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/attac...0&d=1461170080

​​​​​











Print Wikipost

Buying Money Orders at Walmart (2019 - 2022)

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Oct 30, 2019, 10:34 pm
  #1381  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: Hilton Diamond, Marriott/SPG Platinum
Posts: 496
briang191 and cuthroat like this.
coolguy100 is offline  
Old Oct 30, 2019, 10:59 pm
  #1382  
 
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 19
Originally Posted by coolguy100
If this is WMs actual documentation.... 😬 Inconsistently written, spelling errors....
skaterr03 is offline  
Old Oct 30, 2019, 11:04 pm
  #1383  
ogg
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 317
Originally Posted by coolguy100
This is unaccepatble!

Anyway, if this is really how things are going to work, it will be great. Right now, for anything over $1K you have to provide photo ID and the information on it is fed into the terminal. I'm banned by MG, so at that stage I'm told I can't get a money order. If this training is correct, for anything under $3,000 and over $100 the CSR will look at the photo ID and the info is only put in if the terminal requests a scan of the ID. If the terminal doesn't request it, the CSR only enters the info over $3,000.

So if that's correct, I'll be able to buy under $3,000 unless there's a specific scan request. I don't care if a CSR looks at my ID. I only care if it's entered into the system

But, of course, this is Wal-Mart, so I don't believe what's posted will turn out to be accurate as it stands now. Thanks for the screenshot, BTW--but WM is incompetent and the training most likely won't be the way things will actually turn out to work.
ogg is offline  
Old Oct 30, 2019, 11:19 pm
  #1384  
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: NRT
Programs: UA gold
Posts: 135
Once again surprise November :3
ezakipocky is offline  
Old Oct 31, 2019, 1:02 am
  #1385  
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: DFW
Posts: 454
Originally Posted by nall
Even if you don't care about the $8k limit, who is to say they won't one day decide that everybody doing over $4k/mo should be banned?
I care about the 8k limit, and it very well could spring further tightening.
horseymen is offline  
Old Oct 31, 2019, 1:03 am
  #1386  
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: DFW
Posts: 454
Thank you for sharing, CoolGuy100, glad we're using some crowd sourcing to get more information on this - this is the first legitimate look at the $100 requirement I've seen, other than the Ariana rumor from October.
horseymen is offline  
Old Oct 31, 2019, 5:45 am
  #1387  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 299
can someone state the 8k monthly limit is tucked in there somewhere?
barrytuneup is offline  
Old Oct 31, 2019, 8:32 am
  #1388  
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Southern California
Programs: AA EXP - 6 MM | Amex Platinum | Hyatt Globalist | Hilton Diamond | IHG Spire Elite | Bonvoy Plat.
Posts: 765
Originally Posted by ChrisFlyer66
I don't feel any need to fly under the radar. The cashiers at my WM all know me and know what I'm doing.
Exactly. For those of us that are frequent (and even those of us that aren't) the CSR's know EXACTLY what we are doing. Still I stopped doing .12 Money orders a while ago. I just make them for flat amounts and drain the rest on Amazon (can drain for anything over $1). I figure if they do some computer pattern to see .12 transactions (not sure if it matters) that maybe it will be easier not doing $999.12 transactions where they can easily just look those up.

But it probably doesn't matter.
saint is offline  
Old Oct 31, 2019, 8:43 am
  #1389  
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Indianapolis
Programs: Hilton-Diamond Lifetime Platinum AA UA, WN-CP, SPG Gold.
Posts: 7,377
My local WM, scanned the back of my DL, for a 999.00 MO.

3 time a month store visitor, in the last 2 months.. not a regular,
satman40 is offline  
Old Oct 31, 2019, 9:03 am
  #1390  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 198
Originally Posted by satman40
My local WM, scanned the back of my DL, for a 999.00 MO.

3 time a month store visitor, in the last 2 months.. not a regular,
probably why they scanned you
beast7276 is offline  
Old Oct 31, 2019, 9:43 am
  #1391  
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Indianapolis
Programs: Hilton-Diamond Lifetime Platinum AA UA, WN-CP, SPG Gold.
Posts: 7,377
Originally Posted by beast7276
probably why they scanned you
The first question was how many MO do you want, then she started typing,

Must have had a look, about me, will hit another WM, next month
satman40 is offline  
Old Oct 31, 2019, 10:54 am
  #1392  
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Titanium, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 69
Has anyone ever hit a Walmart where they only accept max $950 per MO? Area I am traveling in this week I have hit three WMs that will let me split into two $499's instead of a $999. Also asking for this split triggered card check once unfortunately.
fearless2357 is offline  
Old Oct 31, 2019, 11:22 am
  #1393  
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 79
$950 is standard in AZ
Davyboyo is offline  
Old Oct 31, 2019, 1:47 pm
  #1394  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Nov 1999
Posts: 24,153
A potential problem maybe if you are out of the area that is written on your ID. So the csr asks and looks at your ID and sees you arent from nearby and then inputs your info into the computer, or wont sell you then MO (which they can simply hit among key on their pad that will end up KOing the MO)

Its all speculation for another couple of days, but any change usually doesnt work in our favor
craz is offline  
Old Nov 1, 2019, 6:03 am
  #1395  
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: SC Penna.
Posts: 43
11/1 morning DP

Tried my local WM to see if new rules were in effect at 8am. Was able to get $199 MO with .88 fee with no ID check. They know me there, and didn’t seem to believe there were any changes. No ID check, no checking card. They stopped allowing multiple swipes last week.
Clueless12 likes this.
Raskage is offline  


Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.