Why would a bank put a 7 day hold on a $50 Money Order? I thought a MO was like cash?

Question

I thought one of the advantages of a MO was that it was cashable as cash. I sent one to my son out of state. Why wouldn't the bank just call the bank where the MO was issued if they had a question about it. Has this happened to anyone?

Answer 1

lots of counterfeit MO's floating around out there

Answer 2

They probably wanna make sure that the money order itself was valid - some people make fake money orders.