What is Cashier’s Order in Singapore: A Step-By-Step Guide
What is Cashier’s Order in Singapore: A Step-By-Step Guide
What on earth is a cashier’s order? You may not have seen one, you have never needed one but chances are, you are going to need it someday when you are truly #adulting.
When it comes to large expenses such as the down payment of a house or a car, a cashier’s order provides a more secure way for transactions. Likewise, when you receive large amounts of insurance payouts, housing related payments, or even proceeds from selling your car, the money will very likely mail you a piece of paper which looks very much like a cheque… but is actually a cashier’s order. Let’s learn more about it.
What is a cashier’s order?
Also known as banker’s cheque, a cashier’s order is like a cheque but issued by the bank themselves.
How it works is that when you request for one, money is immediately drawn from the payer’s account and put onto the bank’s own account, making the bank fully responsible for it – until the recipient deposits it.
It is available in different currencies, depending on the bank, to meet your needs.
How does cashier’s order work?
A cashier’s order is a more secure and reliable method to pay someone or receive money, rather than carrying around a fat stack of cash.
Another upside of using a it is that it ensures that the recipient gets their money. Since it’s issued and guaranteed by the bank, it will not bounce back due to non-sufficient funds.
So for instance, if you are selling your car, you should protect yourself and specify that you want payment to be made via a cashier’s order as opposed to a cheque to ensure that you won’t be cheated of your money.
Cashier’s order vs cheque
Both a cashier’s order and cheque are written documents that serve the purpose for transferring money.
The main difference lies in the fact that a cashier’s order is guaranteed not to bounce, since the money has already been retrieved from the payer’s account when it is issued.
On the other hand, regular cheques have the possibility of getting rejected if the payer doesn’t have enough funds in their bank accounts.
For this reason, a cashier’s order is commonly used for property, brokerage or other big-ticket item transactions to protect the recipient/seller’s interest.
How can you get a cashier’s order?
You can purchase a cashier’s order at any bank branches. To purchase it over the counter, all you need is your identification card (NRIC).
The typical fee is $5, but it may be waived if you’re a wealth customer (i.e. DBS Treasures, OCBC Premier Banking, etc.). Here are links to the major banks’ cashier’s order instructions.
How to bank in or deposit cashier’s order?
Can you deposit your cashier’s order into the cheque box? Technically yes, you can just drop your cashier’s order into the cheque box outside your neighbourhood bank outlet.
Wa, such a big sum of money leh, you sure I can drop it in the box outside? Later someone take my cheque how?
Let’s clear this up once and for all with a suaku story of mine: one time I had to bank in a cashier’s order, I insisted on taking a queue number at my neighbourhood market’s DBS branch to physically bank in my Cashier’s Order. I queued for almost an hour (COVID times). Then, I went in to show the bank teller my cashier’s order. She just told me… to just drop it in the cheque box outside. So, the security guard escorted me out (COVID times) and watched me drop the Cashier’s Order into the cheque box and I left feeling like a fool.
How long will it take for you receive your money from the Cashier’s Order? When depositing a cashier’s order, the time needed to get the money is the same as that of cheques:
| Cashier’s order deposited on | Receive money on |
| Mon – Thurs before 3.30pm | Next business day after 2pm |
| Thurs after 3.30pm | Monday after 2pm |
| Fri before 3.30pm | Monday after 2pm |
| Fri after 3.30pm | Tuesday after 2pm |
| Saturday | Tuesday after 2pm |
| Sunday | Tuesday after 2pm |
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