| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Which is the safest payment method? Thread poster: Hugo Martínez Andrade
|
|---|
Edward Potter 
Spain
Local time: 08:29
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| How much PayPal and Moneybookers cost | May 29, 2012 |
Paypal E-check is free / Moneybookers is about 50 euro cents per transaction
| | | | | Depends on various factors | May 29, 2012 |
Edward Potter wrote:
Paypal E-check is free...
I pay about 4% to receive an eCheck in EUR from the other side of the Atlantic to Spain.
Philippe
| | | | Hipyan Nopri
Indonesia
Local time: 13:29
Member (2005)
English to Indonesian
+ ...
| Warning against PayPal Account Limitation | May 30, 2012 |
Indeed, MoneyBookers and PayPal facilitate fast payment by clients to translators.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that our PayPal accounts may be access-limited for some ridiculous reason.
For example, my PayPal account access was limited for PayPal's suspicion that there was some "unusual log in activity" with my account.
With limited account access, I cannot request/receive or withdraw money or close my account.
I have met what they request... See more Indeed, MoneyBookers and PayPal facilitate fast payment by clients to translators.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that our PayPal accounts may be access-limited for some ridiculous reason.
For example, my PayPal account access was limited for PayPal's suspicion that there was some "unusual log in activity" with my account.
With limited account access, I cannot request/receive or withdraw money or close my account.
I have met what they requested, but the problem persists. ▲ Collapse
| | | |
For example, my PayPal account access was limited for PayPal's suspicion that there was some "unusual log in activity" with my account.
That's wierd... nevertheless, I would change the password, just in case someone has stolen it (malware).
| | |
|
|
|
Kay Denney
France
Local time: 08:29
French to English
| Of course it's out there but... | May 30, 2012 |
Of course it's out there, only it's really interesting to read what people's experiences actually are. When you look at any website selling a service, it always sounds like the only decent solution. Looking into %s and fees always gives me a terrible headache, so the kind of feedback given here is incredibly useful.
| | | |
Firstly I don't bear the transfer costs of my clients.
Yet, it is always explicit on my invoice what my client will have to pay in case s/he will use paypal for money transfering.
As to Paypal as a payment method, I think they are explicit about their prices, so I would be careful to use the words like ''swindlers''.
Paypal's transfer cost: Money the client will pay - Money translation company wants to receive
Deduce it yourself from the foll... See more Firstly I don't bear the transfer costs of my clients.
Yet, it is always explicit on my invoice what my client will have to pay in case s/he will use paypal for money transfering.
As to Paypal as a payment method, I think they are explicit about their prices, so I would be careful to use the words like ''swindlers''.
Paypal's transfer cost: Money the client will pay - Money translation company wants to receive
Deduce it yourself from the following calculation:
Money translation company wants to receive * 1.034+0.35 = Money the client will pay
I prefer using bank transfer for EU countries, whereas I use Paypal for other countries as it is easier for administration.
The only reason I don't use moneybooker, I like minimising the number of banks I am working with.
Best regards and best of luck
[Edited at 2012-05-31 12:17 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Oups, this sounds like an attempt to theft | May 31, 2012 |
Hipyan Nopri wrote:
Indeed, MoneyBookers and PayPal facilitate fast payment by clients to translators.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that our PayPal accounts may be access-limited for some ridiculous reason.
For example, my PayPal account access was limited for PayPal's suspicion that there was some "unusual log in activity" with my account.
With limited account access, I cannot request/receive or withdraw money or close my account.
I have met what they requested, but the problem persists.
Dear Hipyan,
During my first year with paypal I had received such an email. I was about to follow their request and give my username and password just as I entered the link sent with this email. Then I said to myself ''wait a minute''. Checked the link's address: It was similar to that of a real paypal but it was not the same. And it did not have the same logo as paypal.
I decided to go to paypal.com and enter my username and password. Guess what? It worked. And everyhthing has been working flowlessly since then...
The very next thing I did, was contact paypal and inform them about the email. This helps them filter/bring to court some suspicious IP owners.
Best regards,
Binnur
[Edited at 2012-05-31 12:16 GMT]
[Edited at 2012-05-31 12:16 GMT]
| | | | Edward Potter
Spain
Local time: 08:29
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Money changing commission? | Jun 2, 2012 |
Philippe Etienne wrote: Edward Potter wrote:
Paypal E-check is free... I pay about 4% to receive an eCheck in EUR from the other side of the Atlantic to Spain. Philippe
Is the 4% you pay a commission for changing currencies?
I only use PayPal eCheck for dollar-to-dollar transactions and it is free.
For euro-to-euro transactions I'll use bank transfer or Moneybookers.
| | |
|
|
|
| Beg to disagree | Jun 2, 2012 |
Trevor Chichester wrote:
PayPal is absolutely safe. In fact, that's my preferred method of payment because it has a built in history/invoicing system that keeps track of all of your pending invoices as well as when company x,y or z is due to pay you. There is a tiny fee associated with PayPal but, in my opinion it's totally worth it.
As some colleagues have pointed out here, though this hasn't happened to me, PayPal may freeze an account with no plausible reason for doing it. In this aspect they have improved, so now it is possible to call a CSR there and talk to a human being, though often a script-bound one.
However PayPal has been developed for - and is owned by - eBay. Therefore it has a risk management feature to thwart the seller who gets paid but fails to ship/deliver the goods. So transactions may be reversed by a click from the payer, on the grounds of flawed or undelivered goods. If the payee has a "verified" account, necessary to withdraw the money instead of spending it online, and has also withdrawn the funds, that amount will be charged to their (the payee's) bank account or credit card.
Bottom line here is that if the client is less than honest, they may pay, get off the hook and/or have a bad BB entry removed, and then reverse the transaction, to have the payee fight for they money.
I wonder what Trevor considers a "tiny fee". In Brazil, where PayPal has set up their own operations, PayPal charges around 6.5% of the amount in fees from the payee. Were that not enough, if the payee needs their balance converted into a different currency to transfer it to a local bank account, PayPal admittedly uses an exchange rate 3.5% lower than the market. So, at least in Brazil, Trevor's "tiny fee" means a whopping 10%!
However that's not the end of it. Again in Brazil - where the entire banking system is lightning fast - PayPal takes 3-5 business days to transfer funds from an account there to any bank account. As interest rates here are around 10% per month, this delay is tantamount to up to 2.5%.
Then there is the eCheck option, which brings the aforesaid 6.5% fee down to only USD 5. However it entails an additional 3-5 business days' delay, so another up to 2.5% in Brazil.
Outsourcers love PayPal because they can't actually see their payees' concealed expenses. If they pay $100, they get proof that they paid $100 for their accounting, and it doesn't matter if their vendors are actually getting less than $90 worth.
Regardng the original question, the safest payment method is still a bank transfer. Though there are variable expenses/fees on both sides, it is reasonably fast, fully trackable from both ends, and irreversible.
Some P2P systems like Moneygram and Western Union are also safe, as it takes 20 minutes for cash to be available on the receiving end during business hours. However they are cumbersome. They involve the payer taking cash to one of these systems' authorized offices, under the risk of (actually or allegedly) being robbed on the way, and accounting docs being rather shady to evidence that the payment was made. On top of it, limits are relatively low, and fees are comparatively high.
Xoom has all the features both sides could wish for - quick, low fees, reliable - however it only operates from the USA to some 30 countries.
[Edited at 2012-06-02 12:20 GMT]
| | | |
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
As some colleagues have pointed out here, though this hasn't happened to me, PayPal may freeze an account with no plausible reason for doing it. In this aspect they have improved, so now it is possible to call a CSR there and talk to a human being, though often a script-bound one.
It has happened to me and it was a nightmare getting this rectified. I am now VERY reticent in using Paypal.
However PayPal has been developed for - and is owned by - eBay. Therefore it has a risk management feature to thwart the seller who gets paid but fails to ship/deliver the goods. So transactions may be reversed by a click from the payer, on the grounds of flawed or undelivered goods. If the payee has a "verified" account, necessary to withdraw the money instead of spending it online, and has also withdrawn the funds, that amount will be charged to their (the payee's) bank account or credit card.
Bottom line here is that if the client is less than honest, they may pay, get off the hook and/or have a bad BB entry removed, and then reverse the transaction, to have the payee fight for they money.
Is not a hypothetical situation; have had that as well and, although it was a small amount, it was, once again, very unpleasant.
Regardng the original question, the safest payment method is still a bank transfer. Though there are variable expenses/fees on both sides, it is reasonably fast, fully trackable from both ends, and irreversible.
Agree in every aspect
As to systems like Moneygram:
They involve the payer taking cash to one of these systems' authorized offices, under the risk of (actually or allegedly) being robbed on the way...
That, of course is a question of statistics and there are countries where that kind of statistics are simply (to put it mildly) "somewhat better than others". It also needs to be said that there are countries (albeit with a banking system that is perhaps not "lightning fast") where you can actually make Moneygram or Western Union transfers and where you can pay by debet/credit card. Is simply a question of getting organized. Receiving the money can, however (depending on the country) be an absolute nightmare, fast banking system or not. Standing in line for 4 hours at the bank and having to provide 4 different documents and dealing with people who are - by definition - envious of anybody receiving money from abroad, is not exactly what I would call "easy to go about". Of course, once again, also this is dependent on the country one is talking about.
Bottom line (at least for me!): bank transfer, please.
[Edited at 2012-06-02 12:09 GMT]
[Edited at 2012-06-02 12:38 GMT]
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 07:29
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Fully trackable? | Jun 2, 2012 |
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
Regardng the original question, the safest payment method is still a bank transfer. Though there are variable expenses/fees on both sides, it is reasonably fast, fully trackable from both ends, and irreversible.
I once had an international wire transfer go astray and disappear totally for three weeks. Neither bank had any idea of where it was. Even though I was transferring money between my British bank and my French bank, so I didn't have to worry about the sender cheating me , that money was lost to me. The fact that it was for tens of thousands of pounds destined to pay for a house, seemed to make both banks a little anxious, but there was still nothing they could do apart from wait for it to resurface. Fortunately, it did eventually do that, but it was a very nasty moment.
I really think there are pros and cons to all the methods being discussed, and a lot depends on where translator and client are based. Flexibility is the name of the game, being prepared to change methods to suit the situation.
Sheila
| | | |
People keep saying that bank transfer is the safest method, but isn't there an issue here with disclosing your bank details to an unknown client? I accept that with clients/agents with a good blue board rating that's less of a concern, but I'd rather have a paypal payment and risk having it recalled than give a stranger my bank details to see what they can do with them...
| | |
|
|
|
| Bank security issues | Jun 2, 2012 |
Vikki Pendleton wrote:
People keep saying that bank transfer is the safest method, but isn't there an issue here with disclosing your bank details to an unknown client? I accept that with clients/agents with a good blue board rating that's less of a concern, but I'd rather have a paypal payment and risk having it recalled than give a stranger my bank details to see what they can do with them...
I wonder what bank security issues/risks may exist outside Brazil in disclosing five pieces of information:
- account holder's name
- bank name/number
- branch number
- account number
- holder's tax ID number
That is all that can be possibly needed in Brazil to make a deposit or a bank transfer, often just some of these will be enough, and many people/companies here openly publish such data online, on their web sites, and even in places like MercadoLivre, our local version of eBay.
Okay, our banking system here is decades ahead of most others, however I wonder if anyone could hack into a bank account anywhere only with the information items above, as all of them are (and must be) clearly pre-printed and identified on each and every (Brazilian) check I issue.
Long ago I read Perry Mason books telling about when checks had to be bought at a stationery store, and the issuer had to fill in even the name of the bank. One case - if I recall correctly - was about the perp having written the name of the wrong bank there; his funds were available, however at another bank. Yet all this supposedly took place two-thirds of a century ago, when the entire process was manual.
| | | | | re bank security issues | Jun 6, 2012 |
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
I wonder if anyone could hack into a bank account anywhere only with the information items above
Hi José
I don't know, and I like to think they could not misuse UK bank details any more than you believe they can misuse Brazilian bank details.
However, if that's the case then why are we all warned off those scams where people ask for your bank details so they can transfer millions of dollars into your account? Clearly they aren't going to do it, but if they couldn't misuse your details in some way then it would be fine to send them the details.
This is why I'm reluctant to share my bank details with strangers, because I'm not in full possession of these facts.
Vikki
| | | | | Am with you, Vicky | Jun 6, 2012 |
Vikki Pendleton wrote: José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
I wonder if anyone could hack into a bank account anywhere only with the information items above Hi José I don't know, and I like to think they could not misuse UK bank details any more than you believe they can misuse Brazilian bank details. However, if that's the case then why are we all warned off those scams where people ask for your bank details so they can transfer millions of dollars into your account? Clearly they aren't going to do it, but if they couldn't misuse your details in some way then it would be fine to send them the details. This is why I'm reluctant to share my bank details with strangers, because I'm not in full possession of these facts. Vikki
People are very cunning when it comes to trying to steal from others and one would be amazed at how inventive they can be.
Unjustified national pride and "wearing blinders" (as we say in Dutch) is definitely something that should be avoided, unless of course you have got money to burn. I do definitely NOT make my bank details public. I don't do that in Europe and I most definitely don't do that here in Brazil. I only give them to those who really need that information for wiring money into my account.
[Edited at 2012-06-06 12:47 GMT]
[Edited at 2012-06-06 12:54 GMT]
| | | | | Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Which is the safest payment method? | Trados Studio 2022 Freelance | The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.
Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop
and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
More info » |
| | CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer.
Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools.
Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free
Buy now! » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
