Have you ever done this? What does it entail? Will my bank charge me a huge fee for this? I am assuming this is an automatic wire transfer.

I want to purchase some publications from a local tourism bureau in Spain, and I want them before I go so I can do some trip planning. They say they can't do credit cards and are asking for a bank transfer. They gave me this info:

BANC DE SABADELL
BIC: XXXXXXXXXX
IBAN: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I'd appreciate your help.

Hi j,

Call your bank and ask how much they will charge for a wire transfer.

Assuming you are in the US, and since this will be an international wire, the fee from your bank will most likely be $50 or higher.

Have your tried the Spanish Consulate?

I just did this for Portugal for three apartments. I will never do it again. But, I may have had some difficulty with the particular people.

Your bank might have different fees. I will just tell you about mine.

I received the SWIFT codes and account numbers from the three people.

I transfered $100 in each case. There was a $17 fee for each of the transfers.

Owner one took four weeks to notify me the transfer was complete. He never did tell me what my final credit was.

Owner two notified me of the transfer promptly, but said that there was a 17E fee charged by her bank for the deposit. So of my $100, I will receive about $51 credit. Because of course there is the conversion from dollar to euro.

Owner three insisted that she never received the money. I initiated an inquiry from my bank as to where the money went. After a faxed confirmation from the bank in Portugal that the deposit had been made to her account and my emailing her of this information, she finally said she received the money. The cost of the inquiry to Portugal was $64. My bank did not charge me for the inquiry because they did not tell me there was a fee for the trace.

Your experience may be different. I know I will never do it again.

Wow! These fees seem quite high for some books I want that total only E24. I guess I will look at a different route of obtaining these publications.

This brings back memories of a similar thing I tried several years ago when renting an apartment from an individual n Spain. The owner and I both finally gave up and he just trusted me and i just trusted him on faith that we'd both do what we promised.

This place says they will send funds for less than banks charge (I can't recall if they do wire transfers or send a check):

http://www.xe.com/ucc/

I haven't yet used their services, but I have seen some postings from people who were happy with them.