Jan 2, 2019, 9:51 am
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.
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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
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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.
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
Buying Money Orders at Walmart (2019 - 2022)
Nov 12, 2019, 2:12 pm
#1486
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Northeastern United States
Posts: 597
stopped by to chat with the csr's at the MC to get a little more information about the sudden shutdown of MO's and loads with prepaid vgc. They basically told me (with almost certainty) that someone (one of the yellow vest supervisor) got fed up with customers arguing for their money back right away when a MO machine would throw a mood and freeze up the transaction.. If you're experienced enough you would know that the money eventually goes back to your card in a couple days but there were (noobs) people who insisted on getting their money back on the spot. The blame wasn't anyone who was considered a casual but it was def people who looked new to doing it and basically the supervisor got fed up of being called to the counter too many times. So yeah, that's the gist of it and i basically hate who ruined it for everyone
Nov 12, 2019, 2:49 pm
#1487
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 2,295
The money does not always go back to the card. If something goes wrong with the transaction where the drawer opens for the cashier it means they are supposed to give you the money back because it is not automatically being refunded to the card. If the drawer opens don't leave the store without a cash refund.
Nov 12, 2019, 3:41 pm
#1488
Join Date: Jun 2001
Posts: 782
The money does not always go back to the card. If something goes wrong with the transaction where the drawer opens for the cashier it means they are supposed to give you the money back because it is not automatically being refunded to the card. If the drawer opens don't leave the store without a cash refund.
Last edited by gw14; Nov 12, 2019 at 3:46 pm
Nov 12, 2019, 3:46 pm
#1489
Join Date: Jun 2001
Posts: 782
I was getting MOs from a regular CSR and she didn't scan my license like some of the other CSRs. I asked her why she didn't just scan my license? Looking me in the eye, she said "when I enter in the information I can put in whatever I want".
Hopefully she is keeping me out of the club.
Hopefully she is keeping me out of the club.
Nov 12, 2019, 4:59 pm
#1491
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Northeastern United States
Posts: 597
I'm glad they were honest about it and you got it back. It would be easy for a dishonest manager to make that money disappear at the end of the night.
Nov 12, 2019, 5:32 pm
#1492
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 4,477
I seriously doubt it. The days when transactions could be simply wiped from the records are long gone. It would also require infrastructure to accommodate systemic deception (e.g. as in Citibank Retirement Services).
Nov 12, 2019, 6:06 pm
#1493
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Northeastern United States
Posts: 597
You're welcome to test your theory as much as you like, but if the drawer pops opens and they MOs don't print I don't leave without cash in hand. The procedure is not new. Events like this happen fairly often.
Nov 12, 2019, 6:22 pm
#1494
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 4,477
That statement was prudent practice. The previous one was incorrect. I had no theories, just corrected a false statement.
Nov 12, 2019, 6:34 pm
#1496
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 1999
Posts: 24,153
The money does not always go back to the card. If something goes wrong with the transaction where the drawer opens for the cashier it means they are supposed to give you the money back because it is not automatically being refunded to the card. If the drawer opens don't leave the store without a cash refund.
Once the csr presses whatever button to finalize the transaction and its sent to the printer to print, Thats it no way after that for the funds to make it back onto the card! Anytime before sending it to the printer by CXing the transaction the funds will get back onto the card usually then and there, thou not sure what happens if multiple cards were swiped , if only the last one goes back or all go back
Ive left a store numerous times w/o the ca$h as they wrote me a receipt and said it must be dealt with the back office of that store. Everytime I did in the end get the money but if youre on the road and leaving town you will have hurdles to climb and I guess they will have to mail you a check or do a BP for you
Nov 12, 2019, 7:00 pm
#1497
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,760
The money does not always go back to the card. If something goes wrong with the transaction where the drawer opens for the cashier it means they are supposed to give you the money back because it is not automatically being refunded to the card. If the drawer opens don't leave the store without a cash refund.
Some back office staff would insist to redo the MO as a Cash Purchase - using the "cash" that should be refunded to you per the receipt, then give the MO to you versus refunding cash, especially if the drawer does not have enough cash in it (shift just changed for example) and has to "borrow" from the back office. Had both cash refund or replacement MO (took 30 min for the back office woman to make it work but she refused to lend the drawer cash so that was the only way...).
Definitely get the transaction receipt which would show how the final outcome of the transaction - finished, or aborted. The former, no money will return to your instrument. The latter, it takes anywhere a few hours to a few days.
Nov 13, 2019, 8:15 am
#1499
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: San Juan, PR
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 146
At K-mart, I had an issue where 2 VGCs were not refunded. After months of back & forth, I got 1, but not 2 of them refunded. Probably my fault as a cashier tried something I shouldn't have let him try.
At Wal-mart, I had an instance where the MO printed out but not handed to me. The cashier put it under the drawer. A senior guy accused me of lying, etc, but I was a regular and some other cashiers stuck with me. Finally got it, but didn't leave the store.
These things aren't always cut & dry. It does suck when noobs or heavy hitters kill the golden goose. Way it goes.
At Wal-mart, I had an instance where the MO printed out but not handed to me. The cashier put it under the drawer. A senior guy accused me of lying, etc, but I was a regular and some other cashiers stuck with me. Finally got it, but didn't leave the store.
These things aren't always cut & dry. It does suck when noobs or heavy hitters kill the golden goose. Way it goes.
Nov 13, 2019, 9:46 am
#1500
Join Date: May 2008
Location: PHL (kinda, no airport is really close)
Programs: AA Exp, but not sure for how long. Enterprise Platinum woo-hoo!
Posts: 4,550
Yesterday I had a purchase where the money order machine connection failed after the payment process was all done. The drawer didn't open. However when the yellow vest came and fixed it, he told the CSR to run another transaction as cash but not ask me for the money. As of that moment the money had not gone back to the card, but I've had it happen that it takes as long as overnight for money to be restored. When I looked at the receipt, at first I thought the card had not been drained, but when I looked more closely it concluded that it had been.
If you do this enough there will inevitably be glitches in both directions. Each transaction is going to be large enough that I wouldn't advocate "Don't worry about it, it all evens out in the end" but I DO believe that at the end of the day (literally) the drawer will either be over or under if it's not handled properly. I had one time that I figured out the glitch before leaving (the drawer would have been under) and explained it to the CSR, who called a CSM, who let me hand them the $500 they would have been short. Another time I didn't realize it until I got home but I went back that night and left them a note, and came back the next day to pay them the $500.
If you do this enough there will inevitably be glitches in both directions. Each transaction is going to be large enough that I wouldn't advocate "Don't worry about it, it all evens out in the end" but I DO believe that at the end of the day (literally) the drawer will either be over or under if it's not handled properly. I had one time that I figured out the glitch before leaving (the drawer would have been under) and explained it to the CSR, who called a CSM, who let me hand them the $500 they would have been short. Another time I didn't realize it until I got home but I went back that night and left them a note, and came back the next day to pay them the $500.