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Recently I have had a few questions asking do I do Iban or Nic. My question is how easy is it, how to go about it and is it better than using Paypal ?

tjlglass wrote:Recently I have had a few questions asking do I do Iban or Nic. My question is how easy is it, how to go about it and is it better than using Paypal ?

Hi Tj,very interesting topics for all to be aware.Be real sure before parting with funds esp outside the Uk and into African countries.
Here are some handy links to read up.
numi

https://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf- ... erms&type=

https://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf- ... erms&type=

Its seems to be mainly German buyers asking me if a accept it ?

From the 1st. August all Bank transfers in Germany have to use the IBAN ( International Bank Account Number) and BIC (Bank Identification Code). This is called a SEPA transaction (Single European Payment Area) and replaces the older bank account number and sorting code. Makes it easier and safer transferring monies inside the European monetary system. As all payments in Germany normally use this system and it functions well, I assume many also think it will function outside of the euro zone. My experience is it does not. I can only make payments using euros when using internet banking. To pay in other currencies I need to go to the bank or use PayPal.

Rod

Seems quite normal in German transactions..I have had a few and all gone smoothly.....Made me more aware of the other items on my bank statement and what they are for...Good luck.

The Netherlands has recently converted all bank account numbers to IBAN format.

These IBAN transfers are free gratis no charge when dealing within the Euro currency zone so are much cheaper than Paypal. However other EU countries like UK who do not have the Euro usually level the standard money changing fee for Euros paid into bank accounts - I use IBAN transfers with folks I trust and the fee is approximately £4 paid by the recipient (free to send) in Denmark and Sweden compared to the Euro zone. Transfer usually takes 2 working days so is more expensive than paypal UNLESS PP fees are over £4!
BTW when sending money via paypal I dont use the PP exchange rate - its 1-2% cheaper for me to use my own bank´s card exchange rate which is the 2nd option clicking on the other currency conversions option

tjlglass wrote:Its seems to be mainly German buyers asking me if a accept it ?

Tim the Germans really are a nightmare in this regard, I am not sure what exactly their problem is with paypal!!!
I think it was Kay who suggested (on another thread) that the Germans as a Nation are suspiscious of any one knowing their bank details and are reluctant therefore to disclose these details to third parties...namely PayPal. Now they may be very right to be cautious with so much online fraud taking place, and the recent Ebay security breach.

Speaking purely as a buyer, I recently bought from a German seller who refused to allow me to pay him using PayPal ( with hindsight i should have walked away at this point), very soon I encountered my first experience of International Bank transfers and quite frankly I found the whole experience very cumbersome, time consuming and antiquated, none of this click once to pay like you get with Pay Pal...Oh No!!! This involved a phone call to my Bank who stated that they would be happy to do it so long as i could supply them with the Iban and the Nic of the seller in Germany, His Bank address and his own personal address. I thereafter proceeded to email the German seller who eventually supplied me with this information 6 days later!! So i phoned up my Bank and gave them the details at which point they informed me that the fee for doing the Bank Transfer was going to be £19!!!!!!! The item i was purchasing had only cost me £25 approx, so i was totally pissed off at the prospect of paying out almost the same amount in Bank fees just because this German seller didn't use PayPal. In the end i conducted the transaction using my on line banking facility which reduced the bank commision to £9, which still pissed me off. Needlesstosay i will never again use International money transfers to pay anybody. It's PayPal or Piss Off!!!

So in answer to your question Tim, As a buyer it is an expensive an painfully slow process. As a seller i would think you may also incur a bank fee on any transaction you receive albiet i am not 100% sure on that, however you may not be happy at disclosing your Bank address and Personal address details which i believe is required by the sending bank before they will process any transaction for any prospective buyers you may have who want to use this Facility.

Give it a wide berth Tim unless you are that desperate to get some customers from Germany.

Motorman,
One of the negative sides of not having the Euro. Inside the Euro zone everything works trouble free and cost nothing! Living in Germany the pound is the nightmare!

One thing to think about when you cast your vote on the 18 th

Rod

motorman wrote:Speaking purely as a buyer, I recently bought from a German seller who refused to allow me to pay him using PayPal ( with hindsight i should have walked away at this point), very soon I encountered my first experience of International Bank transfers and quite frankly I found the whole experience very cumbersome, time consuming and antiquated, none of this click once to pay like you get with Pay Pal...Oh No!!! This involved a phone call to my Bank who stated that they would be happy to do it so long as i could supply them with the Iban and the Nic of the seller in Germany, His Bank address and his own personal address. I thereafter proceeded to email the German seller who eventually supplied me with this information 6 days later!! So i phoned up my Bank and gave them the details at which point they informed me that the fee for doing the Bank Transfer was going to be £19!!!!!!! The item i was purchasing had only cost me £25 approx, so i was totally pissed off at the prospect of paying out almost the same amount in Bank fees just because this German seller didn't use PayPal. In the end i conducted the transaction using my on line banking facility which reduced the bank commision to £9, which still pissed me off. Needlesstosay i will never again use International money transfers to pay anybody. It's PayPal or Piss Off!!!

You would have been better off sending him Euro banknotes which you could have obtained at a bank or post office. (I've done that before with non-PayPal continentals and it worked very well.)