Anyone familiar with making international payments?

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GeoffisPure

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#105066 26-Jun-2012 18:09

My webhosting company (Servage - based in Germany) currently have a really good deal but you can only get it if you pay by bank transfer into their German account. Even with the bank fees, it still seems like a really good deal compared to paying with credit card.

I tried to make the payment today over the phone through ANZ but ran into the following problems:
- I was told the swift code I had was invalid, even though I've checked it online at http://www.swiftbic.com/ and it says it's valid for the bank I am paying.
- I was told that in addition to the $25 bank fee, I should add money for a "receiving fee". The guy at the bank said there was no way of knowing what the receiving bank would charge, so that adding AUD$30 would be a good guess. Does this sound right? Sounds very... uncertain.

Would appreciate any advice.

mattwnz

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#646545 26-Jun-2012 18:31

GeoffisPure: My webhosting company (Servage - based in Germany) currently have a really good deal but you can only get it if you pay by bank transfer into their German account.? Even with the bank fees, it still seems like a really good deal compared to paying with credit card.

I tried to make the payment today over the phone through ANZ but ran into the following problems:
?- I was told the swift code I had was invalid, even though I've checked it online at http://www.swiftbic.com/ and it says it's valid for the bank I am paying.
?- I was told that in addition to the $25 bank fee, I should add money for a "receiving fee".? The guy at the bank said there was no way of knowing what the receiving bank would charge, so that adding AUD$30 would be a good guess.? Does this sound right?? Sounds very...? uncertain.

Would appreciate any advice.

Sounds a bit odd that they are giving a big discount on cash payments. Normally a CC fee should be no more than 3-5% more expensive than a cash payment. There are fees with international bank transfers for both sender and reciever, so I would try to avoid payment like that. They also may get charged a fee, which they could pass onto you. Generally speaking, CC also gives you protection, say if the company disappears with your money and doesn't provide the service you paid for.

knoydart

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#646546 26-Jun-2012 18:34

Hi,

I use a company called Tranzfers.com to send money to my UK bank account a few times a year. You have to get set up ID wise but pretty straight forward with a $12 transfer fee per transaction at the NZ end only. They do a wide range of currencies and if you do use them, PM me for a referral link so I can get free stuff (Well not quite free as you need to use the service but good way to encourage it none the less!).

Cheers

Knoydart

Technofreak

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#646549 26-Jun-2012 18:39

Yep, that sounds about right, though I don't think all banking systems charge a receiving fee, Aussie banks do but I don't know about elsewhere. The receiving fees fees are a rip off as far as I'm concerned as the receiving bank doesn't do any work.

As well as charging you for setting up the transaction they'll charge a Forex fee too.

Sometimes it gets too hard to do business this way for small transactions, the fees cost too much relative to the total cost. This is where Pay Pal comes into it's own.

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sbiddle

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#646567 26-Jun-2012 19:05

International transactions are still very much a manual process, so the international fees will always apply.

AKLWestie

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#646593 26-Jun-2012 19:33

I tried to make the payment today over the phone through ANZ but ran into the following problems:
- I was told the swift code I had was invalid, even though I've checked it online at http://www.swiftbic.com/ and it says it's valid for the bank I am paying.

Did you provide a SWIFT code with "X" in it? I think "X" in SWIFT is just a filler so you can try give the bank a SWIFT code without those Xes. Also, it is quite common for European banks that they need a IBAN (International Bank Account Number) to process the payment, so it is good to double check with your Germany counterpart.

- I was told that in addition to the $25 bank fee, I should add money for a "receiving fee". The guy at the bank said there was no way of knowing what the receiving bank would charge, so that adding AUD$30 would be a good guess. Does this sound right? Sounds very... uncertain.

Would appreciate any advice.

The "receiving fee" is a normal. Many banks around the world charge that. Usually the bank will ask you whether you want the receiver to pay that fee or the sender (i.e. you). It might be easier to ask ANZ to charge you (but make sure you have enough money in your account to avoid it going to OD).

Cheers!

BigMal

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#646662 26-Jun-2012 21:11

GeoffisPure: My webhosting company (Servage - based in Germany) currently have a really good deal but you can only get it if you pay by bank transfer into their German account. Even with the bank fees, it still seems like a really good deal compared to paying with credit card.

I tried to make the payment today over the phone through ANZ but ran into the following problems:
- I was told the swift code I had was invalid, even though I've checked it online at http://www.swiftbic.com/ and it says it's valid for the bank I am paying.
- I was told that in addition to the $25 bank fee, I should add money for a "receiving fee". The guy at the bank said there was no way of knowing what the receiving bank would charge, so that adding AUD$30 would be a good guess. Does this sound right? Sounds very... uncertain.

Would appreciate any advice.

A SWIFT is code is generally 8 or 11 characters long and is usually found on the receiving banks website. So, look for the german banks website and then look for their SWIFT code.

On top of the fee you pay to send the IMT (international money transfer) the receiving bank also charges fees for processing at their end.
If you opt for a fee type of "BEN" the receiving bank will take the fees out of the money you send (hence the reason the customer service rep told you to top it up by $30).
If you opt for a fee type of "OUR" that means you want the full amount of payment to be received by the person you are sending the money to, in turn the german bank will then charge your bank (ANZ) for the processing fees and your bank will in turn charge you what they were charged by the German bank (hope that makes sense).
The third fee type is SHA where the fees are shared by the sender and receiver but you probably don't need to worry about that.

Some banks don't let you send with a fee type of "OUR" (Kiwibank don't) but ANZ should.

Kyanar

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#646915 27-Jun-2012 11:52

You could also set up with American Express Fx International Payments, the fee is quite low and the receiver isn't charged anything (and it goes in at a maximum of about 3 working days).

(Note: You don't need an Amex card or merchant account to use it).