Receiving payment from certain coutries; my bank won\'t take Slovak checks
Thread poster: Nina Engberg
Nina Engberg
Nina Engberg  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 07:44
English to Swedish
+ ...
Oct 20, 2001

Hi all,

I did a translation back in July for a company in Slovakia(I am located in the U.S.),and I told them that check, PayPal, or wire transfer would be fine. They said they would send a check. I have since been told by my bank(Wells Fargo) that they don\'t accept checks from Slovakia. I emailed the company to let them know, and i haven\'t heard from them yet. What do I do?

Since this company only owes me about $40.00, I don\'t know how they should pay without losing an arm
... See more
Hi all,

I did a translation back in July for a company in Slovakia(I am located in the U.S.),and I told them that check, PayPal, or wire transfer would be fine. They said they would send a check. I have since been told by my bank(Wells Fargo) that they don\'t accept checks from Slovakia. I emailed the company to let them know, and i haven\'t heard from them yet. What do I do?

Since this company only owes me about $40.00, I don\'t know how they should pay without losing an arm and a leg. I mean, it could cost more than what they owe, almost!

I would welcome any thoughts or recommendations that you might have on this subject. Which countries can one accept work from and receive payment easily? Which ones are tricker, and if they are, have you found a way to get around it?

(Another funy thing is, that until recently, I used another bank and I had to call 3 different branches and finally the administrative office to find a person who knew what a SWIFT code was -- and even then they didn\'t give me the correct information. I switched banks. Go figure...)



_________________

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Thierry Heim (X)
Thierry Heim (X)
Local time: 23:44
English to French
+ ...
Receiving payments Oct 20, 2001

Receiving payments from abroad can be a problem, especially for translators who don\'t have a merchant account to accept credit cards. I live in Australia and had to wait more than two weeks for a telegraphic transfer from Switzerland. Paypal is ok but it requires people sending you money to register as a member as well, which can be a bit off-putting. Perhaps some of the members can suggest other easy methods of receiving money across borders?

 
Nermina (X)
Nermina (X)
English to Bosnian
+ ...
foreign payments Oct 20, 2001

they should be able to send you a money order drawn on a u.s. bank that operates with the slovak bank of your client. you should definitely be able to cash that. they have to have a u.s. partner bank. otherwise, they would\'ve been worthless. as to the fees they would have to pay, i think the bank\'s commissions in that part of the world are usually 10 percent, which is much less than what u.s. charges. a u.s. bank usually slaps you with $10, regardless of the amount.

 
mónica alfonso
mónica alfonso  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:44
English to Spanish
+ ...
Just a suggestion Oct 20, 2001

I don\'t know how it work, but, have you tried with Western Union? Some people say this is an easy and cheap means for small sums. I haven\'t tried myself, so I cannot tell you.

 
Scott Li
Scott Li  Identity Verified
Hong Kong
Local time: 21:44
Member (2005)
Chinese to English
+ ...
Suggestion only Oct 20, 2001

For such small amount of money, mail the cash by double registered or record mail to countries where mail system is reliable.



The receipient is required to sign upon arrival of the mail and the signed document will be returned to the sender.



However, it may be illegal to mail cash in some countries.


 
Erika Pavelka (X)
Erika Pavelka (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:44
French to English
Try an international money order Oct 20, 2001

Hi Nina,



You could ask the agency to send you an international money order, which they should be able to get at the post office. I also thought the Western Union idea was good.





 
Nina Engberg
Nina Engberg  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 07:44
English to Swedish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
I have given them Western Union info Oct 20, 2001

\"have you tried with Western Union?\"



I actually did email them with information in regards to Western Union. I even gave them the name and location of banks that cooperate with Western Union. I haven\'t heard from them yet, I guess it\'s time to contact them again...


 
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 14:44
French to English
For USD 40 this could cost you more than it's worth Oct 21, 2001

In France, crediting a client cheque from another European country into my account in France costs between equivalent of USD 60 and 100!



Before accepting work with a client outside France without a French account, I ask for confirmation that payment will be made by any method (ANYthing) except cheque. Banks hate them cost they cost a lot to process and they punish you for it!!!



Banks!!!


 
Nina Engberg
Nina Engberg  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 07:44
English to Swedish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
I think that Western Union will work best in this case. Oct 21, 2001

Thanks to all of you for your imput here. I don\'t know if I\'m any wiser, but I think the way to go for Slovakia will be Western Union. By the way, this was not an agency -- this was a direct client.



Thanks again from a chilly Colorado,



Nina


 
Vladimir Dubisskiy
Vladimir Dubisskiy
United States
Local time: 08:44
Member (2001)
English to Russian
+ ...
Intnl money order or Western Union Oct 22, 2001

Dear Nina,

I live in Canada and my bank CIBC just did not have that SWIFT number. They have routing number instead, a two digit code. It works for wire transfer anyway. With Slovakia, - well, money order should work, another point - how much they will pay in charges and whether they (agency) pay those charges themselves or subtract from your $40. I may guess it will be around $10 with Western Union, intnl money order probably less.


 
vjtrans
vjtrans
United States
Local time: 06:44
Romanian to English
+ ...
ProPay and getting paid from overseas Dec 11, 2001

ProPay is good for accepting credit cards if you live in the US. Take a look at their website (http://www.propay.com) for more info. You can ask them for their credit card info and process it yourself. If they accept credit cards as payment you can always do the opposite and have them credit one of your credit cards for the amount due (we\'ve done that with a couple of our international translators with small a... See more
ProPay is good for accepting credit cards if you live in the US. Take a look at their website (http://www.propay.com) for more info. You can ask them for their credit card info and process it yourself. If they accept credit cards as payment you can always do the opposite and have them credit one of your credit cards for the amount due (we\'ve done that with a couple of our international translators with small amounts). The only other things I can suggest are 1) find out if any of the international banks will accept the check (Citibank for example) and consider opening an account with them 2) ask the client to send you an international cashier\'s check or money order if their country will allow that.Collapse


 


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Receiving payment from certain coutries; my bank won\'t take Slovak checks







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