The USPS used to offer banking through the post office, but that program ended in 1966. It was dubbed “the poor man’s bank”. BUT! It looks like it might resume in very limited locations and in a limited way. You can still get money orders via the USPS, which is amazing. I’ve used them many times for that.
Here is an amazing fact about the USPS: there is mule train delivery in Arizona to service the Havasupai Native Americans (and others, too, I would imagine) at the base of the Grand Canyon! The best part? You don’t pay extra for this service! It’s a nine mile (14.5km) trail downhill. Click on that link - the facts are amazing!
Something of a disservice at Norwegian post offices: When you use your credit card at a store the payment is registered as a purchase, as you would imagine. When you buy postal supplies, often at the same store as the only true post offices left are now in Oslo, those payments are registered as a cash transaction, ie you’ve been handed cash from the till. With my bank at least, those payments will have interest accumulating from day one.
These type of purchases are called quasi-cash - things that have a face value equal to their cost. Other types of quasi-cash are travellers cheques and casino chips. They are treated differently because of their potential to be used for money-laundering!
When I buy stamps on my credit card in Australia, they treat it as a purchase. I’m not sure who decides how it will be treated - it might actually be your banking regulator setting the rules here.
