How to Send Cash

So you need to send some money. Maybe you want to slip a couple of $20 bills in a birthday card. Maybe it’s a larger payment for some not-at-all-sketchy, off-the-books services rendered. Either way, it can be a pain to send paper money without having to worry that it might mysteriously slip out of your envelope into someone else’s pocket.

“Sending cash physically via mail or something is probably one of the least efficient options for moving money around,” says Kevin L. Matthews, a financial advisor who has offered money advice for WIRED before. “It’s not necessarily something that I would recommend.”

The problem, he says, is that if something goes wrong and the cash goes missing, there’s really nothing you can do about it. There are better ways to transfer finances, but if you absolutely have to get your coins from one piggy bank to another, here are the best ways to do so without getting ripped off.

Don’t Get Scammed

To be clear upfront, you should not just stick a wad of cash in the mail and hope for the best. There’s too high of a chance it will get lost, stolen, or otherwise wind up in the hands of someone you don’t intend.

And to that last point, if you are sending somebody any kind of payment, ask yourself these basic questions: Do you personally know the individual you’re sending money too? Have you vetted the agency purporting to get your dough to the right place? Is there any fine print? Does the method for sending money seem too good to be true? If any of those questions give you pause, it’s probably a scam.

Scams are evolving quickly, Matthews says, and they are getting more difficult to detect all the time. “The number one rule is, don’t ever send any money to anyone that you do not know. And don’t be afraid to call and check. That’s always an option. Be careful of the details, verify the information, and just make sure this makes sense. Because usually once that money walks out the door, it’s absolutely not coming back.”

There are lots of ways to keep yourself and your loved ones from getting ripped off and protect yourself from AI scam calls. (Grandma, I promise you, Charter.bot texting to ask you to send it gift cards is not a legitimate way to pay your cable bill.)

Paper Trail

There are ways to send cash safely. If you’re just sending a small amount, like slapping a fiver in a birthday card, using the regular mail system is probably fine. You run the risk of it getting lost, like with anything you mail. But if you care about the money getting where it needs to go, you should insure it or send a money order.

In the US, you’re allowed to ship cash up to $500 without having to register it with the US Postal Service. It’s not technically illegal to send more than that through the US Mail, but it’s also not a good idea. If you do need to send cash and don’t mind Uncle Sam knowing about it, you can insure your package for a value of up to $50,000. There are a couple caveats, though.