I'm talking about archival institutions, not private researchers for hire, which always (so far in my experience) instruct you to wire money to their local bank. That's their terms and there's no changing it. U.S. banks offer online payment facilities to other U.S. banks which require the use of routing numbers such as those in the bottom left corner of your personal checks. Transferring money to a foreign bank requires the use of SWIFT codes and IBAN numbers - and extra fees for the service and for the currency conversion. I do have a private researcher in Germany who has been making payments to other EU banks on my behalf. Her bank charges only 5 Euros for the service. I PayPal her the money to cover it and they charge a modest currency conversion fee. This works okay but I'd rather not have to rely on her. I'm wondering if it's finally time to get that Swiss bank account I've always wanted IF they'll let me wire money from online. ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Steitz" <john.steitz@gmail.com> To: <paallegh@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 10:14 AM Subject: Re: [ALL] OT: Making overseas payments > Credit cards are the easiest way but occasionally no dice there. > I have used paypal successfully with a willing researcher I know others > who > have sent a US check with ample conversion extra > I have also sent a small amount of euros cash, not recommended but it > worked > on the small. > > John > Ireland, Germany > On Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 10:03 AM, J T Walton <jtwalton13@comcast.net> > wrote: > >> Jim, >> I hope when you find a solution, you will let us all know. Many of us >> have >> the same problem, where places won't accept our credit cards. >> Thank you, >> Jeannette >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "C. James Strutz" <strutzj@strutz.com> >> To: <paallegh@rootsweb.com> >> Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 9:58 AM >> Subject: [ALL] OT: Making overseas payments >> >> >> > Listers, >> > >> > Please forgive the off-topic question. I know some people here research >> > overseas and am hoping some of the Allegheny county locals, or anyone, >> may >> > point me in a good direction. >> > >> > Researching ancestry in Europe often involves finding the right archive >> > institution and requesting a record search. If you're lucky enough to >> > get >> > a >> > response, they will send you the record/s of interest along with an >> > invoice. >> > The invoice contains information necessary to wire money, in Euros, to >> > their >> > bank. >> > >> > Our local banks typically charge a $40-$50 fee to do an overseas wire >> > transfer, which is nearly equal to the research fees in many cases. >> > Western >> > Union charges around half that depending on destination. PayPal or POP >> > sevices do not wire money to banks, only to email accounts. >> > >> > Does anyone know of a reasonable way to wire money to overseas banks? >> > >> > Private replies please. Thanks... >> > Jim Strutz >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ >> > >> > Visit our Allegheny County, PA Website: >> http://www.rootsweb.com/~paallegh/ >> > ------------------------------- >> > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> > PAALLEGH-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >> > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >> > >> >> >> >> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ >> >> Visit our Allegheny County, PA Website: >> http://www.rootsweb.com/~paallegh/ >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> PAALLEGH-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message >> > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > Visit our Allegheny County, PA Website: http://www.rootsweb.com/~paallegh/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > PAALLEGH-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > ----- > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 10.0.1191 / Virus Database: 1435/3373 - Release Date: 01/11/11 >