Bank transfer to Germany
Discussion
Hi
I've bought something on e-bay from a German seller and need to do a bank transfer. The value of the sale is 65 Euros but Barclays want to charge about the same amount to to do the transfer.
The Germans don't seem to use paypal and I haven't got a Euro chequebook.
Anyone know a way to transfer money to a German bank for not a lot of money?
Thanks
I've bought something on e-bay from a German seller and need to do a bank transfer. The value of the sale is 65 Euros but Barclays want to charge about the same amount to to do the transfer.
The Germans don't seem to use paypal and I haven't got a Euro chequebook.
Anyone know a way to transfer money to a German bank for not a lot of money?
Thanks
Barclays want to rip you off 
If you have all your accounts at Barclays, why not confront the customer service on how they can get the cheapest way for you, and why the quoted you around €65, and how they think it won't happen in future again.
A preview for the following link said:
Cross-border euro payments now significantly cheaper
EU rules on how banks should charge for cross-border euro payments have brought about significant savings for consumers, without leading to an increase in charges for domestic transfers, according to a European Commission report. A EUR 100 cross-border transfer, which would have cost on average EUR 24 before the rules were introduced, now costs on average EUR 2.50. The rules have also provided banks with an incentive to develop and invest more in an EU-wide payments infrastructure, which in the longer term should help to reduce costs for all consumers.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesA EU rules on how banks should charge for cross-border euro payments have brought about significant savings for consumers, without leading to an increase in charges for domestic transfers, according to a European Commission report. A EUR 100 cross-border transfer, which would have cost on average EUR 24 before the rules were introduced, now costs on average EUR 2.50. The rules have also provided banks with an incentive to develop and invest more in an EU-wide payments infrastructure, which in the longer term should help to reduce costs for all consumers.
If you have all your accounts at Barclays, why not confront the customer service on how they can get the cheapest way for you, and why the quoted you around €65, and how they think it won't happen in future again.
My sister lives in Germany and the cheapest way I've found of getting cash to her and the kids for birthdays etc. is to pack it up in an envelope and send it by post!! Probably not quite the solution you're looking for though.
The Germans use ebay quite a lot so I'm surprised at the lack of paypal - how do they normally manage?
The Germans use ebay quite a lot so I'm surprised at the lack of paypal - how do they normally manage?
Piglet said:
The Germans use ebay quite a lot so I'm surprised at the lack of paypal - how do they normally manage?
Compared to the UK, bank transfers are more commonly used for any money transaction in Germany. On ebay, sellers usually provide the buyer with their account details, and await payment before shipping the goods. If the buyer does online banking (which is common amongst internet users), the transaction does not take more than two minutes to do and is free. If the seller uses online-banking too, he'll find the amount on the same day or on the next working day.
My online banking account offers a mask for EU-transfers too, complete with BIC and IBAN fields.
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