A guy in Switzerland has offered to pay me for some software work. I’ve accepted payments from Americans in USD using PayPal, but his offer is in Euro.
I see that PayPal supports non-U.S. accounts in many countries, including Switzerland. My PayPal account is one of those “premier” accounts where they take a percentage of every payment, and I’d rather keep as much as possible. Are there any drawbacks to using PayPal internationally, other than that one?
Are there any other international money transfers that might have lower fees? He suggested a bank transfer, but I’m not sure how safe that is.
Bank transfers are perfectly safe; you just need to give the person all the information that you would give them on a check. (Bank routing number, account number, etc.)
The SAFEST international money transfers, of course, are handled through Nigerians who cannot spell.
When I was a telemarketer (sorry), we were able to take payments via “check by phone”: the customer would read off the digits on a check, and through some mystical process, we’d receive money from their account, as if they’d written a check to us.
If I give someone the information found on my checks, what protection do I have against that person doing the same to me, without my approval?
Talk to your bank. The easiest and safest way is to send an international money transfer (IMT). The bank will charge you an exchange fee, which should be minimal. If your friend does not want to disclose his banking information, the transfer can instruct the paying bank to issue and mail a check to him for which you may incur an additional processing fee.
As far as “checks by phone” go, businesses that accept them usually only mail merchandise to the address of record at the payor’s bank or only accept them for payment on the payor’s account (i.e., a utility bill).
Thanks, I’ll ask my bank about international transfers and their exchange fees.