We are in the process of renting an apartment in Florence for Feb. 2008. We were going to just wire the deposit but then were concerned about paying the balance upon arrival. The landlord does not accept credit cards and we wanted to avoid losing money on a currency transfer. Our only thought was to pay the rent in full. We have no reason to doubt the honesty of the landlord. Any other thoughts on transferring large amounts of money from dollars to euros? The full amount is $2200. Thanks for all ideas.
John
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
I suggest that you open an account with www.xe.com/fx. Send your deposit through XE. Just before your trip send the balance through XE.
I use my account to send money to relatives in England and have also used it to pay the deposit at a B&B in Europe that didn't take credit cards. Money is transferred electronically from my checking accunt to my XE account. A bank draft in the currency of my choice is mailed directly from XE to the recipient of my choice. The exchange rate is only slightly higher than the international rate on the day the transaction is initiated. There are no other fees. A wire transfer is an option for faster service--for a fee, of course. For security reasons it takes a little time and effort to set up an account, but things go swiftly and smoothly after that.
Posted by
Hendersonvlle, NC
486 posts
We just did that. Rentalsflorence.com. We were really concerned about wiring $1500 but there was absolutely no problem. Gabriella showed my brother the bank info to show exactly how many euros we got. Wonderful experience. In fact, we had to include a 200€ deposit but as soon as my brother got there (he was there before us), she refunded the deposit. Apparently, it is to protect against damage by the younger generation.
Deal with a reputable company. Rick didn't list any but Frommer's Italy highly recommended this place and she was right.