Hello! In November of 2023, I was on vacation in Austria. While I was there, I had to go to the emergency room to get some stitches. They said I did not have to provide a credit card at the time of service and they would send me a bill. After several months, I finally got the bill. The problem is the bill is in German. Using Google translate, I can't figure out how to pay the bill online, or even send back credit card information for them to bill me. I see an area that looks like it may be asking for my banking info, but I'm not sure. It says "online banking" and asks for an IBAN number. There is nothing specifically asking for account numbers or routing numbers. Anyone have any experience with paying medical bills from Austria?
Posted by
York
117 posts
I have no experience of paying medical bills in Austria but your IBAN contains identifiers of your bank, your bank sort code and your bank account number. In other words if you provide your bank IBAN it will have the details they need to take the payment from your account.
Posted by
Maryland
865 posts
Google IBAN numbers… they are international bank code numbers. Speak to your bank on how to handle the bank to bank funds transfer .
Posted by
Sweden
6390 posts
IBAN is as mentioned an international standard for bank account numbers that is used in international transfers. I would not count on them accepting card payments unless Visa or Mastercard is mentioned somewhere.
It's hard to be of more help without knowing what it says on the bill.
Posted by
Washington DC
27120 posts
I have a feeling you could do this through Wise (formerly TransferWise) at a cost lower than your bank will charge. I've never needed to transfer funds overseas, but several folks here have done so and reported Wise worked well at a very reasonable cost.
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
6318 posts
Is there a reply option to the bill? If so, I would try to email them and explain that you are English and need some help. Most Germans speak pretty decent English so you should hopefully get a response.
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5384 posts
I pay my medical bills all the time here with a bank transfer using my Iban. How can I help?
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10194 posts
The problem is that the US doesn't use the IBAN system, unlike much of the rest of the world. Most US bank employees have no idea about this.
You need to send your money to a company like Wise that can convert and send the money. Wise will have a US account, so your bank wire to Wise will be domestic.
If you have your bank send an international wire to Austria, chances are it will be $60 or more.
Check out Wise for international transfers.