We found a place to stay at an Agriturismo in Italy and they want full payment by wire transfer within 15 days of arriving. Are wire transfer payments a common practice for Italy Agriturismo's? It makes me a little suspicious but I understand that these places are often run by families that do not have credit card agreements.
Thanks
Wire transfers (bonifico bancario) are very common and actually cash payments above a certain amount (1,000 euro) are now illegal due to a new law enacted to prevent tax evasion. Italians can no longer pay their house rent in cash if above that limit. Only check or wire transfer or ATM/debit/credit card. The penalty for making cash payments above that figure is 1% to 40% of the transaction amount.
You could wire transfer the payment from your home bank, but they may charge upwards to $30 for the service.
There are bill payment companies online that can charge your credit card or ATM card and pay the agriturismo's bank account in Euros. Their fees are often very reasonable.
Wire transfers are commonplace and cheap within Italy. See if they have a Paypal account you could use instead.
