Have booked an apartment in Germany for next April. They require a deposit of 50% at least 30 days before arrival to their bank account (yes, its legit).
The last time that I tried a foreign bank transfer a few years ago, it took more than 2 weeks and cost $50. Although this is a common method of payment within Europe, many US banks (and especially my smaller bank) are NOT familiar with or adept at making payment go smoothly.
I see that the panda currency conversion site offers a foreign money transfer service at a much lower cost called transferwise.....anyone use or hear of it?

Lol, that should read: oanda current site...

I know people that are using Transferwise. No idea about oanda.

I'm likely setting up my own Transferwise account soon . People seem happy with it.

I've never used oanda/travelwise (my own bank does international transfers and it takes hours, not 2 weeks so I've never had need to) but there have been lots of posts/mentions of them on the forums (especially on the Europe board) and all seem legit

Yes, Transferwise was what I meant! Well, I have a some time to investigate anyway....

Hi mokka4,

I use xoom, which is a PayPal product. I've used it a few times to transfer funds from my US bank to my German bank when I was too lazy to walk to the ATM. The cost is around $5, if I'm remembering it right -- but they do tell you the fee before you agree to the transfer. It takes 2 or 3 business days.

Hope you find a good solution --

s

The few times I needed to do a wire transfer, the fees were lower or free using an investment account such as Fidelity or TDAmeritrade. Fidelity is MUCH better at it than was TDA.

I do wish more overseas vendors accepted Paypal, even if they charge back the supplemental fee.

My daughter in Australia has experience with transferwise and considers it quite reliable. I recently sent $ to her via xe.com as I was just a little more comfortable with it after reading the reviews. I priced Western Union and it had a less favourable exchange rate (CAD to AUD) and a $15 fee. I didn’t check out the banks; once I had a teller advise me to go elsewhere as their rates were too high!

Thanks all. I have read really good reviews on both Transferwise and HiFX.
It seems that Western Union charges much more (though all 3 MUCH less than my little bank!)
I also have investments with Fidelity, so I will also explore that avenue. At least I know there are some legitimate options. I was dreading the laborsome process with my bank!

What about credit cards?

Small B&B, they don't take credit cards.
I ended up using HiFX. Still waiting to see the transaction post...

It seems strange that any B&B or travel business related operation, especially international wouldn't take credit cards. We have stayed in different people's homes in an extra bedroom (talk about small operations) and even they take credit card. It is just part of doing business.

Not everywhere for sure. And in many countries the merchant has to pay pretty hefty fees to the credit card companies so they will either not accept cc's or offer a discount for cash. Sometimes they will take a deposit by cc to facilitate booking, but prefer the balance in cash at check out.

In the Euro zone you can do an online transfer to anybody else in the Eurozone for free. No merchant fees or other issues for either end.

Taking credit cards requires you to sign up with a provider. Then have enough customers who want to use a credit card. Most people I know only have a prepaid card at most.

Unfortunately, I am in the US, not the Eurozone...HiFX was reliable and cost about $7!

https://www.npr.org/2019/02/11/69133...-much-too-fast

I know this is slightly off topic but more countries (especially Sweden and Norway) are going completely cashless. I think this is great especially for travelers. Buses and trains no longer take bills or change. Nationwide rail company SJ has even started allowing customers to store digital tickets on microchips in their hands.

It's great if your card works there. If you're a traveler with a non working card ?

I remember one Sunday in France and the automated gas station only took French cards. Not Italian,UK or Canadian. Yes I tried them all -( Luckily I had enough fuel to last until Monday.