Would you gift someone (fairly) immediate money (less than $1000) with a cashier’s check or a money order? Why?

I only can speak of my experience with a cashiers check.
I had sold my car to a friend and he gave me a cashiers check from the same bank. I was putting it in my savings account. The cashier questioned me as if I had stolen it almost!
Do you know this person? Why is he giving you 7,000 dollars? You can’t cash this now. We put a 10 day hold on it. I wasn’t cashing it, I was putting it in my savings account. You still can’t get it out for 10 days. I don’t want it out! That’s why it’s going in savings! Yes, I yelled at this point.
Anyway, I don’t know if they put a hold on a money order because I have never had one.

A Postal Money order. Easy to get in US locations.
I have heard horror stories about Cashiers/Certified Checks at several financial institutions.

I always use a cashiers check when I need something like that, simply because that’s what my bank issues and I’ve always gone to the bank for that type of thing. Plus, my bank doesn’t charge me for it because of my type of bank account I guess.

Maybe it might help knowing if the receiver will be charged a fee to deposit or cash it? Can they cash it for free at a branch of wherever you buy it if they don’t have a bank account?

I’m assuming they might not have a bank account since you don’t want to send a regular check nor electronically send the money, although I realize there can be other reasons for choosing a money order or cashier’s check.

I have also experienced problems trying to deposit a cashiers check. Money order seems simple.

I had a bank question a cashier’s check once. No reason for them to question it but they did.

Yikes. I remember the days when a cashier’s check was absolute. Thanks for these, you guys.

I too believe the money order preferable for several reasons.

Money order as it is immediate to cash in, and no waiting to clear.

And you should be able to convert it to cash at most post offices.

If the recipient needs immediate cash… money order is best.

I think the hassles with cashier’s checks are exactly why one might choose them: there’s a certain amount of security in using them, whereas a money order is very liquid. If a money order goes astray, though, anybody can cash it.

If you want instant access, then it sounds like the money order is your pick, as long as you’re confident of receipt on the other end.

I have to agree with @Jeruba. Security is often a GOOD thing, unless immediacy is more critical.

Anybody might fraudulently cash a U.S. postal money order, but it is one of those mistakes a fledgling crook makes but once. If you report the money order lost or stolen and have your receipt, your money should be refunded in full within 6 months.

I went with the convenience and immediacy of a money order.
Thanks, all.

Either one is fine. I’ve had not problem with cashiers checks from my bank or postal money orders.

If the amount is less than $1000 I would give cash. Simple.
If I won’t be seeing the person for a while or they live far away I’ll use online bank transfer, or some other service like Venmo.

@LuckyGuy Cash turned out not to be feasible (their in the house) so money order was appropriate.

Oops, sorry for typo. ”Thief” in the house.

I think cashier’s chcecks are used for stealing. I see sometimes in furniture flipping groups on FB, people talk about scams where buyers will pay with cashier’s checks and then I’m not sure what happens after that but they have the furniture and then the check is cancelled maybe? I don’t flip furniture (just look at the pix on FB) so I am not exactly sure what occurs but I see it mentioned a lot, and the original owner of the items is then out the money and the item.

Cashier’s checks – aka official bank checks – are more and more frequently being counterfeited. When the bank questions you about its origins, and the reason you have it, they are trying to protect you and themselves.

The scam @jca2 mentions goes like this: You’re selling something on FB marketplace. The buyer gives you a fake bank check for more than the sale price. They tell you the extra is for you to pay the person picking up the item, as they are from a moving company and need to be paid in cash. The mover takes the cash and the item. You take the bank check, deposit it, and the check comes back fraudulent. The person now has your cash and your item.

As for the quizzing you receive, it’s an effort to make sure you truly know where the funds came from and that they’re genuine.

Yikes! Forgot to answer the question. If I were to gift someone less than $1,000.00, I would purchase a U.S. Postal Service money order. They can still be faked, but at least the bank can verify them.