How to Transfer Money to Someone Who Doesn’t Have a Bank Account

The best apps, sites, and services to send money

Co-authored by Kim Bates and Ali Garbacz, B.A.

Last Updated: August 21, 2025 References

Need to split a dinner bill or pay back a friend for concert tickets? Even if one or both of you don't have a bank account, there are plenty of ways to send money. We've rounded up the 9 best options available to you for sending money to someone when a bank is out of the equation. Keep reading to find the method that will work best for you.

Things You Should Know

Use online payment services like PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App to instantly send money.
Give the other person a prepaid debit card, a store gift card, or a Visa gift card that they can use to make purchases.
Send cash, a check, or a money order for a smooth offline transaction between you and someone who doesn’t have a bank account.

1

Online Payment Service

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The recipient can use a credit or prepaid card for apps like Venmo and PayPal. To send money, enter the amount you want to send and the name, email, or phone number linked to the recipient’s account. The other person will receive the money in their balance within minutes.^{[1]
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- Keep in mind that each app has different features, fees, and levels of protection.
- Withdrawing money from these apps is different for each service. PayPal has the option to request a check to be mailed to you.^{[2]
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- Venmo and Cash App don’t allow you to withdraw your funds without a bank account or a debit card, but they do offer their own debit cards that tie directly to their Venmo or Cash App accounts.^{[3]
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- If you and the other person use both PayPal and Facebook, you have the option to link your PayPal account to Facebook Messenger and send money via Facebook Messenger.^{[4]
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2

Mobile Wallet

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Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay are the 3 most popular and widely-used mobile wallets. Both you and the recipient need to have an account with the same service in order to send and receive money. Use a credit card or prepaid card to load money into your balance and then send it off to the other person.^{[5]
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3

Online Money Transfer Service

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Send and pick up cash using money transfer services. If neither of you has a bank account, use a cash-to-cash service, such as Western Union, Money Gram, or Ria. Go to one of their agent locations and hand over the amount of cash you’d like to send. The service will transfer the amount over to the recipient to pick up at their own location as cash.^{[6]
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Consumer Reports
Nonprofit organization dedicated to consumer advocacy and product testing

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- Another option is to send money using a credit card or prepaid debit card. You don’t need a bank account to use either of these, and the recipient can still pick up the transfer as cash.
- Using these cards may have higher fees than using cash or a bank account.
- The retailer Walmart has a service called Walmart-to-Walmart that allows you to send a transfer from one of their store locations or from their online site. You then select whether you’d like the recipient to be able to pick it up at another Walmart, a Western Union agent location, or a Money Gram agent location.^{[7]
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4

Prepaid Debit Card

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Buy a prepaid debit card with cash or a bank card. These cards work just like regular debit cards for the most part. Once you’ve loaded money onto the card, the other person can use it to buy things, pay bills, and withdraw cash from ATMs. Purchase a prepaid debit card at select grocery and drug stores, online, or at certain banks and credit unions.^{[8]
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US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
U.S. government agency for protecting consumers in the financial sector

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- Prepaid debit cards can also be used for some online payment services and money transfer services in place of a bank account or a real debit card.
- Your name and personal information won’t be anywhere on the card so you’re free to load it on another person’s behalf and give it to them to use.

5

Visa Gift Card

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Visa gift cards can be loaded and used without a bank account. These kinds of gift cards are also known as “open-loop gift cards.” These are network-branded cards that are accepted wherever other cards from that network are. Buy one either at your local grocery store or online. Use either cash or a credit card to make your purchase.^{[9]
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- Open-loop gift cards can be used much more freely than a gift card intended only for one specific business, and they act more like prepaid debit cards.
- Unlike prepaid debit cards, open-loop gift cards can’t be used to withdraw cash from an ATM.

6

Retailer Gift Card

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Use cash to buy a gift card from someone’s favorite store. Gift cards are always a great option for birthday presents or if you just want to treat your friend or family member to something nice. Neither you nor the recipient needs a bank account to buy or use a gift card. Head over to the store, restaurant, or another venue where you want to buy the gift card, then pay for it using cash or a bank card.^{[10]
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- Some retailers may allow you to use a credit card to purchase your gift card, but this doesn’t apply to all businesses.
- Some gift cards are reloadable, meaning you or the recipient can continue to add funds once the balance reaches 0.

7

Money Order

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You never need a bank account to send or receive money orders. Purchase a money order at your local post office or grocery store. If you don’t have a bank account yourself, pay for your money order using cash, a credit card, or a PIN-enabled Visa gift card. Your recipient can then take it to the bank the order was issued from, the post office, or a grocery store to cash it.^{[11]
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- Hand over the money order directly to the recipient or mail it through the post office.
- There may be additional fees you have to pay when purchasing a money order. Similarly, the recipient might also have to pay a fee when they cash it.

8

Cash

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Neither of you needs a bank account to mail or directly give cash. This is the simplest method when it comes to sending or receiving money. Either meet up with the other person to give them the cash or leave it for them in a secure location to pick up later—such as a locked mailbox or a private office. While sending cash through the mail is an option, it’s not the most secure.^{[12]
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- If you want to send cash via the post office, use USPS’s Registered Mail service or a similar service provided by the national mail carrier or postal service in your country. Registered Mail provides delivery status updates, and the recipient is required to sign once they get their package.^{[13]
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- Registered Mail also has the option to insure the item you’re sending.
- Sending cash through Registered Mail can be slow going, so this might not be the best option if you need to get money to someone quickly.

9

Check

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Your recipient doesn’t need a bank account to cash a check. You will need a bank account to write a check, but the recipient can cash it without one. They can go directly to the bank where the check came from, grocery stores, or a store that specifically does check cashing. Fees for each of these locations will vary.^{[14]
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Kim Bates
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- Online payment services such as Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App (formerly known as Square Cash) also allow you to cash checks and add them to your balance.^{[16]
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- To cash a check using one of these apps, take a picture of the front and back of your endorsed check using the app, then submit the photos for review.
- Send a cashier’s check if you don’t have a bank account but still want to send a check. These checks draw on the bank’s funds rather than someone’s personal funds. Pay using cash, a credit card, or a prepaid card.
- Some banks require you to have an account with them in order to buy a cashier’s check, so check with them before you head over to buy your check.

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Warnings

Sending cash through the mail comes with the risk of it getting stolen along the delivery route. Instead, deliver cash directly to the other person, or leave it for them in a secure location, such as a locked mailbox.

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