Paying American credit cards from Germany

I use American credit cards even though I live in Germany. I recently received an email from Paypal stating in August they will stop their billpay service. Who out there pays American credit cards and how? I no longer have an American checking account but I still want to be able to pay online. I will go back to the states later this summer and probably open up a checking account so I can do the normal automatic transfer from that account but getting money into that account is sometimes a hassle.

I transfer my money over to my bank in the States using Paypal (cheaper for small amounts to eat up their exchange rate than pay to accept a wire transfer to my account). I set up my electronic billing independently through my creditor's website, and they automatically take the money from my bank account.

Rumor has it that if you have a Citibank account in the States and another one here, you can transfer money between them for free (I assume at the interbank exchange rate, but check that). You may want to open up a Citibank account when you go back to visit.

Edit: Just realized you don't have a checking account in the States. I'd check your bank's website. Perhaps in the meantime it's possible to do the payments out of a family member's account, and you can just send the money to them via Paypal.

I have one, although I rarely use it anymore since I now have a German card. But the easiest thing to do was to have the bills sent to my parent's address and have them pay it for me. You can pay them back in a variety of ways. I have an extra card for my bank account and get my mom to take out money when necessary.

I keep a US Checking Account and use it for all payments to the devil (credit cards, student loans, etc.). This also means that I have to transfer funds via SWIFT every month from SSKM -> US Account.

@Chicago - for most US banks, there is a charge to receive such transfers, and it can be as high as $50 (though I think normally around $20-$25 is usual). The difference between the interbank rate and Paypal's exchange rate is on the order of 0.04, so if you're transferring a $100 monthly payment, that's a cost of only $4 to transfer the money.

Have a look at XETrade from the folks at XE.net.. They charge even less than paypal (Which isn't a bank, but pretends to be thus by-passing the banking rules) and offer all kinds of currency services.
There avg. transfer time is 1-3 days to US/Canada.

The best part:

They are also a large exchange center in partnership with "Custom House" Currency Exchange, have been around for a long time and are a secure.
According to the Company Backround they move over twelve billion dollars every year.

I'm curious as to how their exchange rate differs from the interbank rate. Transfers via Paypal are "free" too, but they get you on the exchange rate. I wouldn't be surprised if these folks did the same.

I use an Auslanueberweisungformular (that's probably spelled wrong) to send Euros to my US account. The cost is 10Euros per transfer regardless of the amount.

BTW, it's a good idea to keep and use an American credit card while you're living abroad as it keeps your credit history active.

@DW - Have you checked to see if there are charges on the other end for receiving the payment?

Yup - no charges from my US bank. I'm not sure if that's unique however (it's a Federal Credit Union if that makes a difference).

I think it actually is less likely for there to be fees to receive transfers at a credit union, now that you mention it.

Then sign-up for an account (It's Free) and see just how much...

Paypal IS NOT A BANK or Registered/bonded/etc finanical institution...
If you want more reasons to not use PP or would like to see the Horror stories,
then checkout - PayPal Sucks

My gf's bank "hypoblahblah" wants a 15 euro fee, then the bank in the states wants a $25 fee...so, paypal...hmm

might be worth it, if anyone has a better idea...?

I didn't think it was possible for your credit history to EVER die.

I keep an American card so I can order things online from American companies, 99.999% of which cannot handle international credit cards on their websites.

As a side note: My online stock brokerage was Ameritrade, which insists on its website that it can do international money transfers online. I tried. To sum up, No, they can't. After talking with a service rep, who said I needed to FAX info which could not be entered on the website, naming an American bank that will handle the transfer. I said my account was with Deutsche Bank (THE LARGEST BANK IN THE WORLD, with branches in every major US city), and he said, "Never heard of it!"

There's no point - I'm heading back in a matter of weeks.

The above blurb about chargebacks etc. is not valid on international transactions - that I know for sure. That's why it's not good to use Paypal for high-value international transactions, if you're the seller (assuming ebay here, as that's the only thing I use it for). The buyer can do a chargeback at any time they like (inc. months later), and you're screwed.

I've seen the Paypal sucks website many times. It only sucks if you don't know what the terms and conditions are and assume you're covered on things you're not. Yeah, Paypal's a pain in the ass in many ways, but it's still the best in many circumstances.

It sucks even when you know the terms and conditions.

PayPal is not a bank and isn't regulated like one. You give them the right to access the bank account you've associated with the account. They can lock it, freeze it and empty it at their whim and have done so to many people.

PayPal requires you to waive your rights to credit card consumer protection laws.

A former employee explained that PayPal intentionally made the phone number very difficult to find in order to save costs. The only reason their number can be found now is because they were forced to by law (EFTA Electronic Funds Transaction Act) after enough complaints from paypalsucks.com readers. (PayPal phone numbers)

PayPal charge the same credit card fees to inter-PayPal transactions. that is, transferring money from one PayPal account to another will incur a fee. No bank can do this.

Whatever happens with a PayPal account, you have no legal recourse. You sign away all rights in accepting the ToS. If they consider anything "questionable", you face a frozen bank account and if you're lucky, you may get the money back after 180 days.

There are 1,000 reasons not to use PayPal. If you must, open a separate bank account to associate with them and never keep more than $5 or so in it. As soon as money transfers in to it, move it to your real account using a cheque or Überweisung.

woof.

SO, you got a cheaper alternative?

(or even close...)

@BadDoggie

Again, Paypal can be dangerous if you're the seller accepting payments. If you get paid $10,000 with a stolen credit card and then move the money elsewhere, they can do whatever they like to recover the money. That's not a problem, however, if you're the buyer or are just transferring money from one account to another.

Edit: I rather like Poopal as a term of nonendearment.

There are alternatives... Ubid & Bidpay to name a few, but I haven't checked/or used them either as I don't need'em.

As for the "Killing your US Credit", it is possible... After being here in
DE for so long I am now a ghost to "The system", this could be good or bad
I haven't figured it out yet

I could be wrong, but I think that the only way to fund a Ubid or Bidpay payment is with your credit card, so that kind of defeats the purpose.

Edit: Just checked. Ubid accepts US debit cards or credit, so that's no good. Same for Bidpay, so that's no good either. As for other purposes you might want to use them for, when you use Ubid or Bidpay, you're essentially buying a money order, so you have no recourse with these payment methods either. At least Paypal will give you their protection policy (though provided you make the payment while patting your head, rubbing your tummy and standing on one foot).

Citibank has a charge of $10 for a transfer between international Citi accounts. It's only free between linked accounts within the US (for example, your savings and checking... etc). Ten bucks is better than a $30 wire transfer fee though.

Maybe open an account with a US online bank. There must be one out there with a free low-balance checking account. I used INGdirect (.com) for savings and a loan, but they don't have checking. Otherwise they are great.