Is a check the same as a money order?
No. A check is a promise to pay someone from sums in your checking account. A money order is a promise to pay someone from funds you paid to the business that sold you the money order. You can place a stop order on a check or close a checking account or not have the money in it to pay off the check, in which case the check 'bounces'. None of those are possible with a money order. As long as the business is solvent, they pay the money order. That makes a money order a more secure form of payment.Pretty much, a money order is already paid, where a check has to clear.
No. When you pay using a money order that piece of paper is worth whatever the value it has printed on. A check might have the value on it, but if the person doesn't have any it will bounce. Meaning the person that wrote the check does not have enough funds in the checking account to pay for the goods.
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