A Canadian money order--issued by Canada's primary postal service Canada Post Corporation or "Canada Post," a financial institution or money transfer company—serves as a form of prepaid money transfer within Canada or internationally. The method to cash a Canadian money order depends entirely on your geographic location, the issuer, the type of currency and face value amount of the money order and your personal cashing preference.
Step 1
Contact Canada Post if you have questions about your money order, didn't receive it via mail, suspect that you're a victim of a Canadian money order scam/fraud or require assistance with finding a money order cashing location at (800) 563-0444 or via mail:
Money Order Services Canada Post 2701 Riverside DR STN 25 Ottawa, ON K1A 0B1
Step 2
Take your money order to a Canada Post office, and cash the entire value without fees. Provide proof of identification (photo driver's license, passport or other form of government approved identification) and endorse the money order with your signature as you would a check.
Step 3
Check with the postal service in your home country to cash a Canadian money order outside of Canada. Canada has postal money order exchange/cashing agreements with postal service corporations/agencies in many countries. Some cash the money orders based on exchange rates while others cash money orders only if they are valued in the currency of the receiver's home country. For example, the United States Postal Service (USPS) only cashes Canadian money orders if they are in U.S. dollars as it treats Canadian money orders as Domestic (same rules and fees).
Step 4
Cash a Canadian money order at a check cashing business that handles international checks, money transfer institution such as MoneyGram International or Western Union or your bank if your local postal service agency doesn't cash Canadian money orders, you're not within close proximity of a post office or your money order was not issued by Canada Post. These businesses and financial institutions accept Canadian money orders either in Canadian currency (CAN) or in the currency of the receiver's home country; cash is then provided in local currency with or without a fee for the exchange rate. As with post offices, provide your identification, endorse or complete a money order "receipt form" (depending on the business or institution) and pay any associated fees to cash the money order.
Tip
Canada Post provides an online search to find the closest local office if you are trying to locate a Canada Post office (see Resources).
Warning
Never cash a Canadian money order without referring to the Canada Post or issuing entity's money order web page to verify current maximum money order values and available issuance country currencies as several scams exist. Click the "Canadian Postal Money Order Scams" link in the Resources section for additional information and to review the Canada Post’s money order fraud protection security features.
Always call your bank to confirm that it cashes Canadian money orders and any money order cashing rules and responsibilities specific to your bank such as your responsibilities if the money order is uncovered as fraudulent after cashing; or whether you must have equivalent funds in your bank account to receive service.