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Buying Money Orders at Walmart (2019 - 2022)

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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.

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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
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________
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

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Buying Money Orders at Walmart (2019 - 2022)

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Old Jan 9, 2019, 9:08 pm
  #61  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Programs: Delta DM, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,492
Originally Posted by devastitis
Are they even back to allowing it? Haven't been back there since the end of 2017 when they shut it down.
If it was ever unlimited it was before 2016. It was one transaction (4 swipes) until the end of 2017 when they stopped selling MOs completely (for any reason). Curious if they're selling them again.
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Old Jan 9, 2019, 10:42 pm
  #62  
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 293
Originally Posted by ericdabbs
Any one have any issue with unloading USB VGCs today? I tried with 3 different cards and I am getting the "unable to debit transaction" message. Am in the SoCal area.
Bought two using those cards tonight at one Walmart in SoCal but couldn’t get a single one to work at another
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Old Jan 9, 2019, 10:58 pm
  #63  
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,500
Originally Posted by BigDawgFT


Bought two using those cards tonight at one Walmart in SoCal but couldn’t get a single one to work at another
After 3 of my cards were not able to be drained with the "Unable to debit transaction", I called up the USB VGC phone number to their fraud department and sure enough the card was blocked. Somehow the purchases at WM were somehow being flagged as suspected fraud. I called them to unblock the 3 cards and now I have to wait 24 hours before I can make debit purchases again. Its kinda of a PITA. I wonder if this is new SOP where you may have to wait 24 hours after purchase before trying to drain the cards. Its pretty annoying. Not sure why all of a sudden this is happening and my first time seeing this. I might have to call them up at least for this set of VGCs to let them know that I am going to be draining these at X walmart so they dont block it again.
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Old Jan 9, 2019, 11:39 pm
  #64  
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 293
Originally Posted by ericdabbs
After 3 of my cards were not able to be drained with the "Unable to debit transaction", I called up the USB VGC phone number to their fraud department and sure enough the card was blocked. Somehow the purchases at WM were somehow being flagged as suspected fraud. I called them to unblock the 3 cards and now I have to wait 24 hours before I can make debit purchases again. Its kinda of a PITA. I wonder if this is new SOP where you may have to wait 24 hours after purchase before trying to drain the cards. Its pretty annoying. Not sure why all of a sudden this is happening and my first time seeing this. I might have to call them up at least for this set of VGCs to let them know that I am going to be draining these at X walmart so they dont block it again.
I'll have to call in the a.m. from my office phone. USB has blocked all calls from my cell phone, my wife's cell phone and our land line. Suspect I called too many times from the same phone in setting new pins on resale cards. Once one phone was blocked, I used the other until it too was blocked. Each time I call customer service and try to get the phone blocks removed, they deny having done so, and I get absolutely nowhere. For what it's worth, looks like the safe number of consecutive calls is less than 10. Sticking to that has prevented my other phones from being blocked.
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Old Jan 10, 2019, 12:09 am
  #65  
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,500
Originally Posted by BigDawgFT
I'll have to call in the a.m. from my office phone. USB has blocked all calls from my cell phone, my wife's cell phone and our land line. Suspect I called too many times from the same phone in setting new pins on resale cards. Once one phone was blocked, I used the other until it too was blocked. Each time I call customer service and try to get the phone blocks removed, they deny having done so, and I get absolutely nowhere. For what it's worth, looks like the safe number of consecutive calls is less than 10. Sticking to that has prevented my other phones from being blocked.
Interesting. I have never heard of that data point before where they block people based off of where they set new pins. Over the years, I have used the same phone number and I find it hard to believe that USB suddenly decides today that it has had enough. Certainly something weird indeed. Hopefully the 24 hour block is all it takes and I can dump these cards. I might have to reconsider going forward how many USB VGC cards to buy at a time to avoid this issue. I wonder if there are other folks who are experiencing the same issue or if this is just a region thing that is only in SoCal area.
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Old Jan 10, 2019, 11:32 am
  #66  
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: DFW
Posts: 683
Originally Posted by ericdabbs
Interesting. I have never heard of that data point before where they block people based off of where they set new pins. Over the years, I have used the same phone number and I find it hard to believe that USB suddenly decides today that it has had enough. Certainly something weird indeed. Hopefully the 24 hour block is all it takes and I can dump these cards. I might have to reconsider going forward how many USB VGC cards to buy at a time to avoid this issue. I wonder if there are other folks who are experiencing the same issue or if this is just a region thing that is only in SoCal area.
Have not heard of the phone block DP either, but I have experienced the blocked cards issue before with USB. It was in the DFW area probably about a year ago, happened to multiple posters on here...can't remember if they were all from the DFW area or across the nation. Had to call in and have the cards unblocked or new cards issued and mailed out. It lasted a few days, maybe a week and then it was back to normal.
knopfler is offline  
Old Jan 10, 2019, 3:57 pm
  #67  
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 293
Spoke to customer service today at USB and, yes, several of my cards were locked because they said they could not be processed at WM. Very odd, as other USB cards had worked just fine at another WM a couple of hours earlier.
BigDawgFT is offline  
Old Jan 10, 2019, 4:49 pm
  #68  
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,500
Originally Posted by BigDawgFT
Spoke to customer service today at USB and, yes, several of my cards were locked because they said they could not be processed at WM. Very odd, as other USB cards had worked just fine at another WM a couple of hours earlier.
Tried another USB VGC card today that has not been blocked before to load GB and still no dice. There is something fishy going on with WM and USB VGCs or at least a particular model of USB VGC.
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Old Jan 10, 2019, 11:09 pm
  #69  
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 3
Gonna be in Denver later this month

First of all, I’m new to the forum. I’ve been a lurker for quite some time but this is my first post. Anyway, I’m going to be in the Denver/Colorado Springs area later this month for one full day. Outside of a mid-morning meeting, I have the rest of the day to kill. With that being said- anyone here live in the area and can confirm if I’d be able to buy VGCs at King Soooper and liquidate them at various WM in the area?
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Old Jan 10, 2019, 11:27 pm
  #70  
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 1,727
Originally Posted by Prometheus77
I've had the same experience at TD. Started pushing volume about six months after opening my account and got a call asking about the large amiunt of MO deposits. Told the truth and they said they'd let the branch manager know and I've never heard anything else about it even though I push double or more what I did back then. Great bank for MS IME.
until another hundred MSers join
Chelski is offline  
Old Jan 11, 2019, 1:08 pm
  #71  
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Northeastern United States
Posts: 597
Originally Posted by Chelski

until another hundred MSers join
You are not wrong. But, TD has paid out over 100 million dollars in fines in the past for money laundering and Ponzi schemes that they repeatedly seem to turn a blind eye to. It's my opinion we are the small fish in their pond and they are not too worried about us.
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Old Jan 11, 2019, 4:53 pm
  #72  
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 3
Question for the people doing a lot of MS on VGC and MO. Do the credit card companies find it odd that you are spending more money then you said you make per year on your credit card application? For example if said you make 80k a year but then do 20k a month in MS thats 240k a year in spending without the income to support it. Does this cause red flags for the credit card issuers?
baseballfan88 is offline  
Old Jan 11, 2019, 5:04 pm
  #73  
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 258
Originally Posted by baseballfan88
Question for the people doing a lot of MS on VGC and MO. Do the credit card companies find it odd that you are spending more money then you said you make per year on your credit card application? For example if said you make 80k a year but then do 20k a month in MS thats 240k a year in spending without the income to support it. Does this cause red flags for the credit card issuers?
The only issuer that gave me a problem was Amex. I got hit with a FR about 3 months in. It took about 10 days to complete and I've been good ever since.
cuthroat is offline  
Old Jan 11, 2019, 7:33 pm
  #74  
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 3
AMEX FR

What does their financial review consist of? I’m not encountering one but just curious what they request.
teejaykoko is offline  
Old Jan 11, 2019, 7:53 pm
  #75  
soy
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: DUB-BOS
Programs: various
Posts: 3,683
Originally Posted by teejaykoko
What does their financial review consist of? I’m not encountering one but just curious what they request.

Google Amex Financial Review, there are lots of details reports of what happens and how to survive one
soy is offline  


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