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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 Jul 22, 2019, 8:47 am
  #901  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 377
Originally Posted by barrytuneup
the high rollers will be shut down at WM soon enough. Why do you think MGram is tracking our MO biz? Big corp take time to make decisions.I have been doing 4K via 2 WM 3x per week for over 2 years. Never 2 days in a row. Never a complaint or peep from any WM employees. I never have the time to do what some others do here. They should get a life. I returned from 2 WM this AM. Done by 9AM and now will spend family time a with sons,dog and pool.its 95 already!! Only instance of huge corp working at warp speed was the USPS..when they stopped selling us MO with OV cards. Seemed to happen overnight.
Could you please cease with the sky-is-or-soon-will-be-falling crap and the moral judgments, please? I Many of us have been MSing successfully for many years -- at WMT, even. I would argue the WMT reporting requirements are a good thing -- it ensures those who do heavy volume don't exceed the limits that have been set (as long as folks play it straight and don't try to evade the 8K daily limit) and builds trust. The theory it's a method to TRAP the evil MSers and ban them for life sounds kind of silly. Lots of other ways to put a stop to this. You do you. We'll do us.
I can see for miles is offline  
Old Jul 22, 2019, 9:01 am
  #902  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 377
Oh, but if you turn out to be right -- all things, eventually, must pass -- so be it. That is the nature of this game.
I can see for miles is offline  
Old Jul 22, 2019, 1:16 pm
  #903  
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 1,727
Originally Posted by I can see for miles
Oh, but if you turn out to be right -- all things, eventually, must pass -- so be it. That is the nature of this game.
this is the one truth we know.

Chelski is offline  
Old Jul 22, 2019, 2:33 pm
  #904  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
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Originally Posted by Chelski


this is the one truth we know.

https://youtu.be/4pBo-GL9SRg
hopefully, daily 8k limit can make this game to last longer, w/o any limit, it will die sooner.
coolguy100 is offline  
Old Jul 23, 2019, 5:48 pm
  #905  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,322
Can someone remind me? --
Say I am buying a $999.12 MO with two $500 GCs (non-Vanillas). First card I swipe is a Visa GC, approved & reduces balance owed. Second card I swipe is a MC GC. Do I have to do the "change payment thing" for this card, or not? I seem to recall that when a MC GC is the final card in a swipe sequence, no special handling is required. Thanks.
tuphat is offline  
Old Jul 23, 2019, 10:24 pm
  #906  
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 1,727
Originally Posted by tuphat
Can someone remind me? --
Say I am buying a $999.12 MO with two $500 GCs (non-Vanillas). First card I swipe is a Visa GC, approved & reduces balance owed. Second card I swipe is a MC GC. Do I have to do the "change payment thing" for this card, or not? I seem to recall that when a MC GC is the final card in a swipe sequence, no special handling is required. Thanks.
just do change pmt. Not always req’d but chance of error if not change pmt
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Old Jul 24, 2019, 10:08 am
  #907  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,322
Originally Posted by Chelski

just do change pmt. Not always req’d but chance of error if not change pmt
apologies for my senility but: do I need to ask CSr to hold off inputting amount as well, or simply do change payment on my screen? My impression has been that when the balance owed is less than the final card to be used, the CSR doesn’t need to key in amount. Thanks.
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Old Jul 24, 2019, 10:42 am
  #908  
 
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Location: SAN
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Originally Posted by tuphat

apologies for my senility but: do I need to ask CSr to hold off inputting amount as well, or simply do change payment on my screen? My impression has been that when the balance owed is less than the final card to be used, the CSR doesn’t need to key in amount. Thanks.
In my experience, yes you do. At my Walmarts I just tell them I am using MasterCards and they know what to do.
ChrisFlyer66 is offline  
Old Jul 24, 2019, 10:52 am
  #909  
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 2
Having trouble with MCGC

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.

I'm trying to buy a $800 MO at WM with four $200 MCGC from Staples. I tell the cashier I want an $800 MO, I swipe the first card, hit "change payment", enter my PIN - and they I get stuck and ultimately the transaction gets cancelled. Does the cashier need to do anything after I swipe the first card, or after I swipe the first and enter the PIN, do I immediately swipe the second card, and so forth?

Thanks in advance.
AnnoyingNoob is offline  
Old Jul 24, 2019, 11:18 am
  #910  
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 7
WM in NEW Orleans, Pensacola or Destin, FL

Hey guys,
I am traveling to these areas next week, any DP of WMs doing MOs with GCs? I appreciate your help.
Thank you.
Robediente2019 is offline  
Old Jul 24, 2019, 12:10 pm
  #911  
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 1,727
Originally Posted by tuphat

apologies for my senility but: do I need to ask CSr to hold off inputting amount as well, or simply do change payment on my screen? My impression has been that when the balance owed is less than the final card to be used, the CSR doesn’t need to key in amount. Thanks.
it depends on ur wm/csr.. if friendly and they don’t care then try either way.. if unfriendly then best to be proactv
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Old Jul 24, 2019, 12:40 pm
  #912  
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Originally Posted by AnnoyingNoob
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.

I'm trying to buy a $800 MO at WM with four $200 MCGC from Staples. I tell the cashier I want an $800 MO, I swipe the first card, hit "change payment", enter my PIN - and they I get stuck and ultimately the transaction gets cancelled. Does the cashier need to do anything after I swipe the first card, or after I swipe the first and enter the PIN, do I immediately swipe the second card, and so forth?

Thanks in advance.
seems you know about the DP since you C&Ped it, then again maybe you didnt read it. If Im following you correctly how you did things

side issue if the MO is for $800 and you plan to swipe 4x 200s how do you plan to pay the fee for the MO did you tell her that as well?
craz is offline  
Old Jul 24, 2019, 1:10 pm
  #913  
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 2
Don't think I told CSR I was paying MO fee in cash. I'm going to try again tonight and I'll be sure to say that upfront.

To put it another way - I understand that with a MCGC, the CSR should not enter the amount of the card before i swipe it. Should the CSR enter the amount AFTER each card swipe, or wait until the end and all cards are swiped?
AnnoyingNoob is offline  
Old Jul 24, 2019, 11:27 pm
  #914  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 483
From the WIKI at the top of thread:
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.

I say I am using MastCards and need switch to debit before you hit enter on the amount. They are used to MastCards now.

WIKIs can be out of date, but still have handy information.
Travelz is offline  
Old Jul 25, 2019, 1:29 pm
  #915  
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Join Date: Jul 2003
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Posts: 29,762
Originally Posted by AnnoyingNoob
Don't think I told CSR I was paying MO fee in cash. I'm going to try again tonight and I'll be sure to say that upfront.

To put it another way - I understand that with a MCGC, the CSR should not enter the amount of the card before i swipe it. Should the CSR enter the amount AFTER each card swipe, or wait until the end and all cards are swiped?
After each, because it is $200 per card. Each amount entered would mean the exact amount taken from the card just swiped.

Otherwise just how your card would clear when each has only $200 on it?

Sometimes not just the mechanism one needs to know, but one also needs to use some common sense thinking.

Last edited by Happy; Jul 26, 2019 at 4:01 pm
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