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It is legal, but strongly discouraged. Cash is untraceable: if the parcel is lost, stolen, or damaged, carrier insurance policies generally exclude currency, and couriers like UPS and FedEx prohibit cash in their terms outright. If you must send value by mail, use a money order, bank draft, or registered letter mail instead.
This is general information, not legal advice.
Every protection you buy with a shipment assumes the contents can be identified. Declared value and insurance both pay out on proof of what was lost: receipts, serial numbers, appraisals. Cash has none of that. Carrier terms carve currency out of coverage entirely, so a parcel of cash that vanishes is worth its postage and nothing else, no matter how much insurance you paid for. A stolen laptop leaves a serial number and a police report with teeth; stolen cash leaves an amount that only you can assert. That is why postal inspectors and consumer agencies universally advise against mailing currency: the system has no way to make you whole.
UPS and FedEx terms generally prohibit shipping currency, and shipping it in a parcel against their terms gives them a contractual reason to deny any claim, even for damage to the rest of the box. Canada Post's position is similar in effect: money and cash equivalents fall outside what parcel coverage pays for. This is stricter than the rules for mailing cash in a letter, where registered mail at least offers a documented chain of custody. In a parcel, cash is simply an uncovered, undeclared risk riding inside a box built for ordinary goods.
| Alternative | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Money order | Prepaid instrument from a post office or bank, payable to a named person | Moderate amounts; replaceable if lost |
| Bank draft | Guaranteed funds drawn on the bank itself | Large amounts; the recipient's bank trusts it immediately |
| E-transfer or wire | Bank-to-bank electronic movement | Speed; nothing physical to lose |
| Registered letter mail | Chain-of-custody handling with signatures at each handoff | Documents or small items where custody matters |
Money orders deserve a special note: unlike cash, a lost money order can be replaced. Keep the receipt stub with the money order number, and the issuer will reissue it if the original never arrives. That single property, replaceability, is the whole argument. Everything else about mailing a money order is identical to mailing cash, minus the part where loss means the money is simply gone.
Then minimize the damage: do not announce the contents anywhere on the parcel, use a plain unmarked box, require a signature on delivery, and keep the tracking number. Never ship cash internationally, where customs declarations force you to state the contents and create seizure risk on top of loss risk. And set expectations honestly with the recipient: there is no recovery path, so both sides should treat the shipment as a gamble, not a transfer.
Ready to ship it? Get a shipping label with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and get your label. LetterAgent labels are Canada-only Xpresspost up to 5 kg.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
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