Postal Orders

[DSJ]

Now that banks are considering doing away with the cheque facility, can anyone tell me if it is still possible to buy Postal Orders?

Many fund-raising charities and small tradesmen do not have card facilities & it is not a good idea to send cash by post.

[dzug]

Yes it is - any amount from 50p to £250.

The fee seems a bit on the high side to me though.

[ABerrant]

Surely the question should be "will it still be possible to buy Postal Orders after October 2018, the date when banks are considering doing away with the cheque facility provided adequate alternatives are developed?"

[buildersmate]

It is far too early to be worrying about this. As the above points out, they are merely looking at ways of removing them from 2018. Plenty of time to see what develops in the meantime.
Come back and ask again in 7.5 years.

[TTG]

Not worth it....fees.

[spudqueen]

I work in a Post Office and sell quite a lot of Postal Orders. There are still people who don't have bank accounts (yes, really!) who use them to send money to people/organisations. You can buy them crossed (so they can only be paid into a bank account), or uncrossed so they can be cashed at any Post Office (it's a good way to send children money for their birthday - they enjoy cashing them in!). There are fees, eg a postal order for £10 will cost you £11, and you can only pay for them in cash, unlike most Post Office services which you can pay for by card or cheque.

[DSJ]

Thank you all for your comments & information. I can breathe again, for a year or two anyway!

I will now close this thread. Thanks again.