Since he wants the money for a June rental, couldn't you send him a check with an agreed-upon exchange rate? It wouldn't take 7 months to clear.

Thank you for all the helpful comments. I now realize that a bank transfer isn't as expensive as I thought it would be. Our Capital One brick and mortar bank (as opposed to our Capital One online bank account) will charge us $40 and BofA will charge $35 for a bank transfer. Hopefully the conversion rate will be reasonable. I'll be sure to double check all spelling and amounts when we make the transfer. I would be very upset to lose this apartment because of an error. Thanks again, Deborah

>>Hopefully the conversion rate will be reasonable<<

- Conversion rate on our Capital One Credit card was 0%, compared to the historical Yahoo rate at the time of the purchase.

- Conversion rate on our BofA ATM card is 3% (which we only use for emergencies)

- Conversion rate to get cash on our Morgan Stanley debit card is 2% (we use this card for cash in Europe)

- Conversion rate on the BofA bank transfer was 3.6%, compared to the Yahoo rate.

Stu Dudley

<i>Conversion rate on the BofA bank transfer was 3.6%, compared to the Yahoo rate.</i>

So the OP would be paying a total of $71 on a $1000 transfer.

I have been looking into this to convert my &pound;'s to $$ as we repatriate. I was appalled at the HSBC rate (3% worse than the interbank rate). I did some digging and ended up at Currency Solutions ( www.currencysolutions.com ). I imagine it is similar to the xe.com that Michael uses. The rate was 2% better and no fees. I'm sold.

If it's $71 plus $35 the OP thinks that is unreasonable; at $71 for fee and conversion I'll do it this time but will try to avoid needing bank transfers in the future. My husband is our "financial manager" and as much as using Xe.com appeals to me, Ron is less comfortable using it and for a one time transfer the savings isn't huge. If I used bank transfers as often as Michael I would sign up with the program for sure. Thanks again, Deborah

thanks indy dad, I'm off to check out currency solutions!! I'm probably over researching before we do this transfer but I did want to know my options ;;) Thanks again, Deborah

indydad, I can see where Currencysolutions is a good choice for you, no fees and only 2% I hope your transition is trouble free.

tomboy, I don't want to risk losing this apartment so I'm going to do the bank transfer. My husband and I are taking our son and his family to France for a first (and probably only!!!) time so we needed a much larger and harder to find place than we usually rent. Ron and I want to give the gift of international travel to our grandsons and share their experience. Thanks, Deborah

Part of my research:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11960003

Of course, I have a slightly different purpose but the concept is the same. Not having a fee is good for the holiday rental. A killer rate is even more important for the larger sums I'm dealing with. Good luck.

<i>If I used bank transfers as often as Michael I would sign up with the program for sure.</i>

I use it maybe once a year, but established the account when I had to pay for substantial repairs on my house.

Since I ask others for particulars: xe.com withdrew $2000 from my credit union accoiunt and deposited 1476.01€ in my Crédit Agricole account. The day's rate of exchange on Nov. 21 was o.7424€ to the dollar.

Thanks for all the helpful information. I did the bank transfer yesterday at BofA and although the expected fee was $35 the currency exchange rate we received was unpleasant ;;) at $1.4078. I had checked before going to the bank and the dollar to euro rate was 1.358. Thanks again, Deborah

That's about the same rate (3.6%) that I noted earlier.

Stu Dudley

It's reassuring that we weren't victims of price gouging Stu but I was hoping for a better rate since we are such a "valued" BofA customer LOL ;;) Deborah

Others can decide if it is worth the hassle for a "small" transfer for an apartment, but the third party services will trounce the bank exchange rates (Currency Solutions, xe.com, etc.). The 2% I mentioned up thread was not a fee but how much better their rate was compared to my bank (HSBC).

2% on $2000 is $40 plus the fee ($35-45) that you save . . .

No one gives the interbank rate for transfers, but the banks make 3-4% while the third party places are closer to 1%.

indy_dad,

It is almost impossible to convince non-users that third party services are safe, practical and hassle free once the original sign-up is done. I only did it because I had to transfer substantial (for me) amounts of money and wanted to reduce the transfer costs to a minimum. I think that anyone who will be transferring money more than once should consider these services.

Michael you are correct, I couldn't convince my husband to use Xe.com,my assurance that Michael uses it was't convincing enough, I guess ;;). Ron's concern was about an online company (third party as you call it) having all our bank information and possible access to our accounts. I'm pleased to see more rentals in Europe accept Paypal for payments. Deborah

<i>Ron's concern was about an online company (third party as you call it) having all our bank information and possible access to our accounts.</i>

I do not have that problem because the credit union checking account I use is empty of any funds until such time I transfer funds into it for travel purposes and for using xe.com.