what is a money order 
a money order is a secure alternative to cash or a personal check which you can use to send money or pay bills it works much like a check and is usually issued by a government or banking institution you can cash a money order or deposit it into a bank account money orders are readily accepted and converted to cash and are often used by people without access to a standard checking account they are an acceptable form of payment for debts both personal and business you can buy a money order for a small service fee from most banking institutions and many other locations money orders were first issued by the u s postal service in 1864 as a safer way to send money through the mail 1 american express introduced a competing money order product in 1882 2