Only special, more expensive United States International Postal Money Orders may be presented abroad.
Chinese Imperial Post began issuing postal orders in 1897, the so-called "remittance certificate".
After purchase, these certificates are payable at main post offices in China and usually bear franked postage stamps represented as fee.
[9] Since 1929, Chinese Post have been able to sell international postal orders cashable under UPU protocol in a few other countries including Japan, Britain, France, and the US.
There is an active numismatic organisation in the UK called the Postal Order Society that was established in 1985 with members both domestically and overseas.
Despite competition from cheques and electronic funds transfer, postal orders continue to appeal to customers, especially as a form of payment for shopping on the Internet, as they are drawn on the Post Office's accounts so a vendor can be certain that they will not bounce.