EXHIBIT 18.1     
                                                                 
                                                              May 17, 1996     
   
Mr. David J. Treinen     
   
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer     
   
MoneyGram Payment Systems, Inc.     
   
7401 West Mansfield Avenue     
   
Lakewood, Colorado 80235     
   
Dear Mr. Treinen:     
   
  Note 1 of the Notes to Financial Statements of MoneyGram Payment Systems,
Inc. (the "Company") as of March 31, 1996 and for the three-month periods
ended March 31, 1996 and 1995, included in Amendment No. 2 to the Company's
Registration Statement on Form S-1 (the "Registration Statement"), describes a
change in the method of accounting for advertising costs during interim
periods. Effective January 1, 1996 the Company elected to expense advertising
costs during interim reporting periods on an "as incurred basis". Prior to
January 1, 1996, the Company expensed a portion of forecasted annual
advertising expense during interim periods based upon the proportion that an
interim period's actual transaction volumes bore to forecasted full year
transaction volumes.     
   
  Management of the Company has advised us that they believe that the change
to expensing advertising costs as incurred during interim periods is to a
preferable method in the Company's circumstances for the following reasons:
       
 .  The "Hold Separate Agreement" negotiated with the Federal Trade Commission,
   as described in the Registration Statement and the financial statements as
   of December 31, 1994 and 1995 and for each of the three years in the period
   ended December 31, 1995 included therein, requires certain minimum levels
   of annual and semiannual spending on advertising and promotion of the
   MoneyGram product. Therefore, during the "hold separate" period, a
   substantial portion of the expenditures on advertising and promotion are
   contractually required.     
   
 .  In order to effectively compete as an independent publicly held entity
   against a much larger competitor and expand in the international
   marketplace, the Company may change its marketing methods as they relate to
   the advertising and promotion of the product and the period benefited may
   not be clear enough to meet the requirements of paragraph 16(d) of APB 28
   with respect to deferral or accrual of costs.     
   
  Management of the Company, therefore, believes that the change is to a more
objective method based upon its current circumstances.     
   
  There are no authoritative criteria for determining a "preferable" method of
accounting for advertising costs during interim periods based upon the
Company's circumstances; however, we conclude that the change in the method of
accounting is to an acceptable alternative method, which, based on the
business judgment of the Company's management to make this change for the
reasons cited above, is preferable under the Company's circumstances. We have
not conducted an audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing
standards of any financial statements of the Company as of any date or for any
period subsequent to December 31, 1995, and therefore we do not express any
opinion on any financial statements of the Company subsequent to that date.
                                             
                                          Very truly yours,     
                                             
                                          Ernst & Young LLP     
   
Denver, Colorado