An international money order is a paper that can be used to transfer money outside Canada. While an international money order is considered more secure than a cheque, there are other quicker and more secure ways to send money overseas.<\/p>
Similar to a cheque, a money order is a paper document used as a method of payment. However, unlike a cheque, the funds for a money order are withdrawn from the payer\u2019s account in advance. This means you can\u2019t send someone a money order unless you have the funds to cover it, so a money order can never \u201cbounce.\u201d<\/p>
You can\u2019t get a money order in Canada for more than $999.99, but you can get multiple money orders if you need to send more.<\/p>
An international money order operates exactly the same way as a domestic money order. The main difference is that international money orders are accepted and cashed in other countries besides Canada, whereas domestic money orders can only be cashed in Canada.<\/p>
If you want to save on fees, a money order may not be your best option for transferring funds. You can usually get cheaper international money transfers through a digital transfer service like WorldRemit<\/a>, Xe<\/a> or Remitly<\/a>.<\/p> While big banks often charge higher fees<\/a> for international money transfers, you might find very competitively-priced money transfer services offered by digital banks like Simplii Financial<\/a> (owned by CIBC).<\/p> Another reason you might want to reconsider using a money order is that it has to be physically issued, mailed, received and taken to a financial institution to be cashed. If you\u2019re looking for instant or same-day transfers, there are faster ways to send money.<\/p> One of the advantages of sending a money order is that it\u2019s considered a fairly safe money transfer method. This is because money orders are trackable and can only be cashed by the recipient named on the document (ID will be required to verify the recipient\u2019s identity). This means that unauthorized recipients won\u2019t be able to get their hands on your funds even if they intercept a money order in transit.<\/p> However, most digital money transfer services also offer tracking and can transmit funds directly to bank accounts or mobile wallets, eliminating much of the risk and hassle of physically handling money orders or cheques.<\/p>