Payment Forms for Genealogy Records



You've ordered that birth certificate from a town hall, or copy of a newspaper article. What's the best way to pay for these items?

PayPal
For those locations that are on the web, many of them have already set up accounts with PayPal. This easy to use system ties to your bank account or checking account and lets you pay safely via the web. This is probably the best way to go if the option is available, because the transaction happens immediately and you have a solid record of the money changing hands.

Visa/MC
Few organizations take Visa or MasterCard because of the interest rates and surcharges involved in those transactions. If the organization you work with takes the card, be sure you NEVER send your card information via email. If you are entering it on a website, make sure that site begins with https:// and not just http://. That is, make sure there is a letter S after the HTTP part. This indicates it is a secure site.

Money Order
If you can't do your payment via PayPal or credit card, a money order is your next best bet. If it is within the US, you can go to your local post office and get a money order. This is guaranteed cash - there is no danger at all of a bounced check. The post office takes your money, creates a money order, and the person who gets it is guaranteed that money from another post office.

If the agency you are working with is NOT in the US, you have to get an international money order. You get these from your bank.

Personal Check
Your last option is to send a personal check. The organization will probably wait for the check to clear - i.e. for their bank to actually get the money from your bank - before they release your records. So this can add a LONG Delay to your receipt of your information.

NEVER SEND CASH!!! Most places will not accept cash, and it is simply not a good idea. No matter how much you trust the person to whom you are sending the information, you can't trust every single other person that envelope goes past.



Main Listing Page
All Genealogy Articles


Note - Lisa Shea wrote this content for the genealogy site at BellaOnline.com - you might still find this content there as well. That's fine :) I gave permission!



 


Lisa Shea Author


Join Swagbucks!
You Can Get Free Gift Cards For Shopping, Searching and Discovering What's Online at Swagbucks.com