This is a new situation for me. First, I am trying to line up a tour guide/driver in the Rioja region of Spain for later this month and the company wants me to put in a deposit via Bizum. I can't seem to do that without having a Spanish bank account. Second, I made a reservation for a winery tour for the next day, and that establishment wants me to pay in advance with a bank transfer. An international wire transfer is exorbitantly expensive. I understand that credit card fees are going up, but how does one pay in advance for services like this in Spain? A couple years ago when we went to Madrid we payed in advance for a tour via Zelle, but that's because the guide (Rick Steves-approved) was already signed up with Zelle. Does anyone have any experience with this or have insights? Thanks in advance.
Posted by
🏝️ Hobe Sound, FL⛱️
3270 posts
Zelle can only send to US banks. Check wise.com which is used by many forum members. Another option might be PayPal. I have used Wise in the past and it is fast, inexpensive and reliable.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
85 posts
I've used Xoom in the past (last time in 2020) for a bank transfer to pay an international deposit. Xoom is part of Pay Pal and was much less expensive than other international wire transfer services.
Posted by
Boise, ID, USA
2280 posts
Yes, as has been mentioned often on this forum, bank transfers are easy and cheap (or free?) in Europe, but Europeans don't realize they're not for us. I use Wise.com
Posted by
Seattle
114 posts
I use Wise.com
It's cheap and fast. But a couple days ago, I received an email that Wise will increase their fees for transfer from USD effective Sept 27.
The new fees are quite high.
Posted by
Hudson Valley
2267 posts
I've run into exactly these issues a number of times, and each time the vendor was able to accommodate me when I explained the limitations of Bizum or the high cost of transfers. Solutions have included PayPal (With me eating the ForEx cost), a previously undisclosed credit card payment facility, or simply a card number to hold a reservation for cash payment on-site.
Posted by
OP
8 posts
Thanks, everyone. This is part of why we travel: to learn new things.