I wouldn't accept a cashiers check for a car in the US right now, unless the seller met me at their bank so I could cash it. A very popular scam at the moment is to buy a car with a fake cashiers check, then disappear with the car, and a couple days later the check comes back as fake.

...that's why you call the bank in front of the buyer to verify it was legitimately issued?

You don't need to visit the bank, just phone. There's no reason you should fall for a scam like that.

Scammers will just fake a check from an out of town bank and make excuses that they can’t meet during regular business hours. I certainly won’t fall for any of these scams but it shouldn’t take a security specialist to not be defrauded.

I would not take the risk selling expensive items with digital transactions for the counterparty to file a fictitious Paypal dispute or credit card chargeback.

Did you respond to the wrong comment? My comment was about paper cashier's checks, not digital transactions.

Haven't written a cheque in the UK for 20 years.

However I have received them from HMRC for refunds.

It's not a check you write.

It's a cashier's check.

They're not used frequently -- really only for things like closing a bank account, buying a used car, putting down an apartment deposit and first month's rent, that kind of thing.

I haven't written a personal check in close to 20 years either, but I've certainly needed to use a cashier's check a handful of times!

> It's a cashier's check.

cashier checks are equivalent to cash and follow the same limits.

They're not equivalent to cash in any way. That doesn't even make sense.

We have money orders, they count basically the same as cash but they are exempt from this law. I saw three in my life. I was given one when I was paid my first salary and didn't have a bank account, and I requested one twice to buy a car in 2011 and 2014.

Yup, that's the same idea. Only real difference here in the US is that a cashier's check is drawn on a bank, while a money order you get at the post office.