I wanted to write this down so that anyone who is considering importing from any country, can see that you can easily make a payment to a supplier, even if it is a small amount or large amount...no need for Paypal, no need for expensive and admin hungry TT's etc.
I often use a company called TransferMate [for payments to any country except India...as I have a Bank account in India for paying Indian suppliers].
Web address:
http://www.transfermate.com/
The premise is simple. Send TransferMate the payment and they will, in turn, credit your supplier's bank account with the funds.
Cost? A flat £10. Most UK banks charge at least £25 and more [some use a sliding scale of charges, of course].
PLUS...they give you FAR better currency exchange rates than your bank ever will. That's not an exaggeration. Your Bank WILL rip you off with the currency rate.
Furthermore: 1st transfer is FREE and if you are sendind regular overseas payments.....they will waive the £10 fee on ALL your transactions.
Process: You DO need Internet banking [this is one way of verifiying your ID, and they may ask you for more, depending upon sums involved etc].
You setup TransferMate as a recipient in your biull payments section, of your Internet banking [they provide sort code, aa/c number and you use your biz/personal name as a reference]
You email TransferMate when you send money: Tell them the amount, the beneficiary full details etc etc etc
You pay TransferMate via your Internet banking service. Add the £10, if applicable.
They get the money, usually within 2 days, from your bank.
They take out their £10 [if applicable] and pass the rest on to the beneficiary you have previously supplied them with.
That's it.
They are NOT a scam. They are NOT greedy gets. They are professional, long-term, well regarded operators in the FX exchanges. If you are considering using them, please do some homework first to give YOU peace of mind...I have around 100 transactions over 2 years for mine.
I am NOT connected nor on some form of commissions etc. I merely mention them to help smaller operators get a better and easier deal, than they do from their bankers.
This is ALMOST as easy as Paypal, believe me and yet is WAY much more secure [few scammers give out as many details as a bank account needs etc etc, but don't use that as the ONLY qualification to judge them upon].
NEVER use Western Union [dangerous, of course AND expensive]...use a bank deposit!
Hope this helps, please let me know [via the forum] if you find them of use.
This may be of no use to some, but....they also ACCEPT foreign payments on your behalf. Your buyer pays them, they then pay you. Useful if your bank gives you lousy currency exchange rates
Mike