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Old Aug 31st, 2012, 04:11 AM
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Konto Accounts & Deposits

i am renting an apartment in Brunnen in early October.
I just received the rental agreement and they are requesting payment thriugh their Konto account.
I remember having extreme difficulty when I tried to do this a number of years ago
(my bank didn't provide this service and when I did find some service, it cost around $50!).
Does anyone know of a cheaper way to deposit rent into a foreign (Konto) account?
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Old Aug 31st, 2012, 10:22 AM
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Anyone?
My bank now tells me they can do an international wire transfer (for $40), but they must have the "Swift Code".
I am awaiting a reply from the landlady to see if she knows this info..aaaarrgghh!
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Old Sep 1st, 2012, 08:11 AM
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"Konto" just means "account", it is not some specific type of a bank account.
No idea where you are situated - within Europe (that includes EU, Switzerland and a number of associated countries) each account has an IBAN (International banking account number) and each bank has a BIC/SWIFT code. Using these, money transfer is free of charge; for this reason, this is the preferred way of transferring funds within Europe.
You can try to convince the owner to set up a PayPal account, but PayPal takes a cut from the receiver, so you may have to transfer a bit more.
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Old Sep 1st, 2012, 08:14 AM
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I use xe.com to transfer money to accounts in France (mine and contractors').

http://www.xe.com/xetrade/
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Old Sep 1st, 2012, 10:36 AM
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It is just an international wire transfer. You can use their swift code or the IBAN number. Ask them for their details and then, have your bank process it. It will cost about $40 but is the easiest and most common way to pay for overseas rentals.
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Old Sep 1st, 2012, 11:26 AM
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<i>It will cost about $40 but is the easiest and most common way to pay for overseas rentals.</i>

At what exchange rate?
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Old Sep 4th, 2012, 04:33 AM
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Ok, it has been accomplished!

Luckily, the daughter of the apartment owner writes excellent english, appears to be employed in a quasi-financial business, and readily wrote back with the Swift Code. My bank will send today (holiday weekend) at a charge of $40 to me.
I hope/imagine that her bank will convert the US Dollars sent to CHF?
Thanks everyone!
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Old Sep 4th, 2012, 04:57 AM
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Your bank should be sending in Swiss currency, not dollars. If your owner receives dollars, her bank will charge not only for the transaction, but also for the exchange. So you should talk to your bank about sending it in the correct currency.

(For many years I managed properties in France, and eventually decided to go with Paypal to avoid some of these problems. However, since Paypal charges 4%, many people don't choose this option.)
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Old Sep 4th, 2012, 05:05 AM
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Carlux is correct. Whenever we transfer money, we send in the receiving currency.

Glad you got it figured out!
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Old Sep 4th, 2012, 05:33 AM
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The swiss franc option wasn't offered as an option at my small bank, so I sent a "rough equivalent", and figure that I will have to pay the difference and/or coversion fees incurred by the landlady, upon arrival..
My bank was REALLY unfamiliar with the whole process, and I didn't trust the staff at CoGo's or the local grocery store to know enough about Western Union International Cash Wire Transfers!
Live and learn.
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