Bank Transfer for Agriturismo Deposit

Bank transfers are very common in most of Europe between individuals, and between individuals and businesses. Think similar to checks once in the US, essentially it is an e-check. Americans stumble at it, in that banks in the US make the process complicated and often levy fees. I know to do a bank transfer for me usually involves submitting all the info, then test transactions are made, then transactions might occur in a couple weeks, and maybe not valid internationally. A transaction between two people in some European countries is as simple as exchanging information and bam, money is exchanged at little or no costs.

You probably need to see what apps they are already involved in. Many places already use PayPal, maybe they use Wise, maybe any of a half dozen others. Americans are likely not their major clientele, so you are left to working with what they already do.

You might check with your bank, I know mine recently added Zelle as a direct payment option, but that would not work internationally, however they might have options.

The host probably gave you their IBAN (International Bank Account Number) a 16 digit number indicative of the country/bank institution. It's very common to use that for bank transfers in Europe, and usually banks charge no more than 1€ (and often 0€) for a bank transfer within the EU.

I often do international bank wire transfers from my American bank to my Italian bank. My US bank is Chase which charges $0 fee when I wire transfer at least $5000 or $5 per transfer if less than $5,000. Obviously Chase still makes its profit on the currency exchange "spread" (the difference between the exchange rate they pay and the exchange rate they charge you). Check with your banking institution what their international wire rates are then decide whether it is convenient to use your bank or another method like Wise.

Yes, they sent their Bank Name, IBAN, BIC and Account Holder information. I'll check with my bank and see what the transfer fee is as well as the currency "fee" to pay in Euros.

I have been using Zelle a decent amount here in the US, but haven't really done too much with wire transfers, and certainly not international wire transfers.

Thanks!

I'm constantly amazed at how archaic banking is in the US. An international transfer here is free, you do it on your online banking app, and it normally arrives the same day, or at worst the next day.

That said, I can recommend Wise, or alternatively Revolut. It's just a standard international transfer same as sending it from a bank, so the other party doesn't need to use it - you just need their account details (IBAN etc). There's no need for test transactions - it matches the IBAN to account name, and if it's nor the same it will alert you.

I'm not a big fan of sending deposits I advance, but if you've decided you want to stay there, you don't have much choice.

I really dislike bank transfers, i find them tedious. I usually ask the host if they can forfeit it if I give them full credit card info and so far it works.

.....I'm a bit nervous with wiring money and then also if we need to cancel, getting our deposit back...... If you think that is a possibility then put it on a credit card. Otherwise you are totally at the mercy of a private party with zero recourse. And some recent postings have suggested that it is getting hard to cancel and to get the refund.

You could also open a bank account with a bank like Chase that has similar or lower rates.

I often use Zelle with my Chase account (the two operate jointly) for transfers within the US, but I don't think Zelle can be used for international transfers. Wise, Revolut, or Xoom by Paypal, among others, are international wire transfer apps you can use.

That said, I can recommend Wise, or alternatively Revolut.

I have seen a couple of folks mention Revolut as well as Wise.

I've never had any problems with Wise, and can recommend it.

There is a current scandal here in England at the moment about Revolut. A significant number of their transactions have been hijacked by bad actors and victims have a very hard or impossible task to retrieve their money.

If you start the transaction I expect that you will be fine using them but I have heard on sources as good as BBC Moneybox Live and Which? that there have been problems.

It is worth checking.

WISE will be cheaper than using your bank. I paid $35 and $40 dollars for transfers before I discovered Wise which charged me about $5. I was hesitant to use Wise ( then called Transferwise ) until I read a favorable article in Forbes magazine about it.

I have an account with Charles Schwab and I use it to send money to my daughter and son-in-law in the UK. It took a little while for me to figure out how to set it up; but, now it is really just a couple of clicks. No fees. Reasonable exchange rate. Also, no transaction fees for ATM transactions. If you have a similar account, you might look there.

If do a bank transfer is too tricky for you, I suggest to ask to the Agriturismo if they can send you a link for the payment of the deposit via credit card. Now the most of places (hotels, B&Bs, agriturismi....) can do it easily via web banking.

I usually ask the host if they can forfeit it if I give them full credit card info and so far it works.

This is in fact a risk at the side of the host. Because if you give him your details about the credit card, you can always delete the transaction at any moment, even after the tour, reporting it as fraudulent. Is not common, but is a kind of scam that is done: people enjoy the holiday, than delete the payment and is a nightmare to have the payment done again.
Instead if you pay by link is the customer who input the credit card details, so cannot be later told that was a fraudulent transaction.

Great info all! I reached out and they said I could use credit card for the deposit, so I'll follow through on that route and report back. I don't have a Schwab account, but that might be a good thing in the future.

Schwab ATM cards are fee-free for overseas use, and if you use an ATM that charges fees itself (increasingly common), Schwab reportedly rebates those fees to you. So if you don't already have an account that provides a no-fee ATM card, it's definitely worth considering a Schwab account.

I don't have a Schwab account, but that might be a good thing in the future.

It is very easy to set up and doesn't require a lot of funds to get started. It is one of the two ATM cards we carry when traveling.