tcreath

My husband and I, along with another couple, are renting a vacation apartment in Mittenwald for 5 days in April. I have to pay a 160 euro deposit via bank transfer. I got an email with what I thought was their complete bank information and I took it to my bank yesterday. After 45 minutes it was determined that they did not give me their bank account number and we could not move forward. I emailed back yesterday and told the apartment owner that I needed their bank account number or if she would take another form of payment (Western Union or a money order). She wrote back with the same information I already had, and said that the IBAN number is her bank account number and that she cannot take another form of payment.

The information I got rom here is:

The name of her bank in Mittenwald
The banks address
The name and address on the account
The IBAN number
The Swift-BIC number

I was told by my bank relations agent that she does need both the IBAN and Swift-BIC numbers but that they are not account numbers and without an account number we cannot proceed. I don't know anything about this stuff but I trust that my bank agent knows what she is doing and talking about. Now I'm stuck. I don't know what to do and if she won't take another form of payment I may have to cancel. Any advice??

Thanks!
Tracy

tcreath

I just googled IBAN number and found this wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interna...count_Numberso maybe the bank agent doesn't know what she's doing. According to this website the last 10 digits of the IBAN is the account number. Now I'm wondering if I should try a different branch of our bank.

tcreath

Oops...the link is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interna...Account_Number

julia_t

I had a similar problem a few years ago when renting a ski apartment in Bulgaria.

It was resolved when we were given a UNCR number (14 digits) in addition to the Swift and IBAN numbers.

I hope this works for you, if not then maybe she will accept another form of payment. Good luck!

janisj

I'd talk to your bank manager -- there is obviously some 'retraining' in order. the IBAN and the name/address should be all you need.

spaarne

I have transferred money to a Dutch bank a number of times. Your banker does not know what he is doing, or not doing. The beneficiary's account number is incorporated in the IBAN. In fact, on the wire/cable transfer request form that I sign one line says *Beneficiary's account number (IBAN for cable transfers)*. My credit union types in *IBAN* plus the 19 letters and digits. It costs me $25 at my credit union. Most banks charge $35 and up.

KayDoll

i just did a bank transfer to France yesterday and everyone above is correct. the account number is embedded in the IBAN number. depending on the bank however, it is 10-14 numbers. mine was only 11. if you can, check with someone else at the agency because it is a hassle if the money comes back due to having the wrong account number.

tcreath

Thanks everyone! I am going to a different branch of our bank tomorrow equipped with the bank information the owner gave us and the wikipedia IBAN link above stating that the IBAN number includes the account number. It's kind of ridiculous that I would have to tell the agent how to do an international transfer! Hopefully this time I will get someone a bit more knowledgeable.

My bank (BB&T) charges $45, btw. She will not take another form of payment so I guess unless I want to open another account somewhere else I don't have much choice.

Thanks!
Tracy

sassy_cat

If it costs that much at your bank and they seem clueless I'd go elsewhere and open another account lol!

Good luck!

hausfrau

I had several similar experiences while living in Germany and after, when I was trying to manage our accounts. U.S. banks seem to be totally inept when it comes to dealing with foreign accounts. Banking in Europe is so easy, and virtually all day-to-day transactions and bill paying are done with the IBAN and Swift code. You just have to find someone who knows what they are doing. Good luck!

StCirq

<<I trust that my bank agent knows what she is doing and talking about.>>

I would never trust anyone at my U.S. bank to have a clue about this. She doesn't know what she's doing. Circumvent her and demand to see a manager. The $45 fee, BTW, isn't atypical, though there are banks that charge less (mine charges $25). You can also go to someplace like Travlex and have them do a wire for you.

sassy_cat

I've had similar experiences too. We bank with HSBC in the UK and thought it would be simple to transfer money to our HSBC account here in the US.
No, we had to jump through hoops and couldn't transfer directly from one account to another!

tcreath

StCirq, after dealing with this I don't think I'll trust my bank either. I just checked Travlex online and they don't have a location in North Carolina. Is there another place similar that someone can recommend?

Thanks!

tcreath

This is such a pain. I wish I could just send a money order via certified mail or FedEx but she won't accept any other form of payment. I'll go back to my bank one more time but this is it. If they can't figure it out I'll just find another place to stay.

logos999

Germans only use BLZ, bank name and account number when making national transactions. Maybe you should write those down separately, and the bankster might get a clue?
Like wikipedia says the iban is
DEkk BBBB BBBB CCCC CCCC CC.

This translates into BLZ: BBBB BBBB with account number CCCC CCCC CC. If you enter the BLZ here

http://www.bankleitzahlen.de/

it will tell you name, town and zip code of the bank.

Mara

I've done transfers online through xe.com - it's a little hassle to set up the account but once it's done, it's fine. I sent a wire transfer to Japan and a ACH/EFT transfer to Paris...and there's no fee for the latter. I found out about it through this board and someone here recently used it as well.

spaarne

<i>If they can't figure it out I'll just find another place to stay.</i>
It would be easier to find a new bank or credit union that knows what it is doing and doesn't charge so much for doing it. Make a few phone calls to the banks in your town.

tcreath

spaarne, I have 10 month old twins that I would have to drag with me to the new bank or credit union to get an account set up, so I think it would be easier to just find a different place to stay. We don't travel internationally as often as we had in the past (thanks to the twins) and in my 10 years of traveling internationally this is the first time I've had to deal with this. So since I will probably (hopefully) not have to worry about international wire transfers again for a long time I'll just stay with our current bank.

StCirq

Did you check to see if Travlex has online services? Don't know if they do,but worth checking.

Also try Mara's suggestion - xe.com

Would the rental owners accept PayPal?

pecavo

IBAN = International Bank Account Number. If you have the IBAN, then you have the account number because the IBAN is the account number!