Bank wires & other methods of payment

BlueYonder

BlueYonder

Flaming panties
Aug 13, 2008
2,660
49
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New York Metro
Okay, I know there have been lots of threads asking about payment methods, and the usual flogging of Paypal. I can't deal with that now because I have an immediate situation that is kind of vexing, and need the advice of WF without going through the multiple threads.

Foreign client won't Paypal me for work he wants, saying "It's not that I can't. In case your account has some problems later that causes any problems for his account, we can't buy traffic = much greater loss of revenue."

He says he wants to pay me with a bank wire, but I don't want to send this complete stranger my account and routing numbers. He claims he pays his current writer using a bank wire, but I don't know him.

He refuses to pay via a Western Union or MoneyGram, claiming the possibility of fraud.

Is there a solution here? Or does this sound like a con to you?
 


I'm not sure exactly what kind of work you're doing, but we pay out people via bank wires every week. You're going to get hit up with a fee that you have to be aware of (not sure, depends on your bank). The fact that he rather pay via wire than western union or moneygram makes me feel more comfortable with him, but I'm not waiting on money from a stranger ;).

I don't think it's a big deal to give a guy your bank account # and routing #, that's just what you have to do to receive a wire. (if you're in a different country than he's in, he'll need a swift code or whatnot).

Also, chances are with a bank wire, you'll get your payment within a day.
 
I'm doing copywriting. He is a client I have never worked for. Here is a funny picture to say thanks for the help. It's for a real product. Your worst nightmare, maybe?

chicken-soup2.jpg
 
PhilipShapiro said:
I'm not sure exactly what kind of work you're doing, but we pay out people via bank wires every week. You're going to get hit up with a fee that you have to be aware of (not sure, depends on your bank). The fact that he rather pay via wire than western union or moneygram makes me feel more comfortable with him, but I'm not waiting on money from a stranger ;).

I don't think it's a big deal to give a guy your bank account # and routing #, that's just what you have to do to receive a wire. (if you're in a different country than he's in, he'll need a swift code or whatnot).

Also, chances are with a bank wire, you'll get your payment within a day.
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This. If you have a good bank that knows you and has your back then you're safe. If anything just make sure your bank has your back.

If you're paranoid, open a new account, fund it with a minimum and give that one to the client for transfer. Move the monies to your regular scheduled program when the transfer clears.
 
PhilipShapiro said:
I'm not sure exactly what kind of work you're doing, but we pay out people via bank wires every week. You're going to get hit up with a fee that you have to be aware of (not sure, depends on your bank). The fact that he rather pay via wire than western union or moneygram makes me feel more comfortable with him, but I'm not waiting on money from a stranger ;).

I don't think it's a big deal to give a guy your bank account # and routing #, that's just what you have to do to receive a wire. (if you're in a different country than he's in, he'll need a swift code or whatnot).

Also, chances are with a bank wire, you'll get your payment within a day.
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The client would need to know the OP's banking information + personal information such as the address attached to the bank account. I understand the concern of providing such information to parties you don't know, let alone out of the country.

BlueYonder, it worries me a bit that he can't pay with WU because he is afraid of fraud. There really isn't anyway that he can get screwed if he pays with WU. The only party that may somehow get screwed with accepting WU would be you.

One other option is to process the transaction via Guru.com. He'll be able to pay Guru.com direct with a wire transfer, and Guru will transfer the money over to you via Paypal/Check or Wire. The only downside is the 10% cut that Guru.com takes.
 
MSTeacher said:
If you're paranoid, open a new account, fund it with a minimum and give that one to the client for transfer. Move the monies to your regular scheduled program when the transfer clears.
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I think this is what I am going to do: I will open a new account funded with the minimum balance on Monday and get a SWIFT code for receiving international monies. The client thinks I have been kind of a pill, but sorta understood my issues. I had money removed from my bank account in the past, and this past summer my iTunes account was hacked and somebody charged up a storm. Most of us have good reason to be a bit paranoid.
 
Check out moneybookers.com, i use it for paying international employees and the fees are reasonable. You can wire cash from your bank to moneybookers and then transfer it to his moneybookers. At least by using moneybookers you'll have some fraud protection.
 
Money wire/transfers would not be economical for him, for such small payments (Thats what I'm assuming). You also run the risk of having fees deducted by the time the funds reach your end, because of the number of banks and holdings the funds have to go through.
 
PhilipShapiro said:
I don't think it's a big deal to give a guy your bank account # and routing #, that's just what you have to do to receive a wire. (if you're in a different country than he's in, he'll need a swift code or whatnot).
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That's enough info for someone to order some real nicely made checks from a company like Intuit and start cleaning out your bank account.
 
^^ Don't they need more than that? Like your business tax ID or SS# and an address? I've done a lot of wires over the years and not had problems but this thread is making me second guess them.
 
MSTeacher said:
^^ Don't they need more than that? Like your business tax ID or SS# and an address? I've done a lot of wires over the years and not had problems but this thread is making me second guess them.
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It's been years since I ordered checks from Intuit, but no I don't remember them asking for my Tax ID. They did ask for my address, but I don't think they actually verify that information. Besides you can pull that information up through public records.
 
Maybe I am alone here, buy my bank has my back way more than it seems other banks are. Not sure if there is a US/Canada/Europe/Asia difference or something like that....but I once had a fake cheque(maybe more but only was ever used) made up and cashed.

My online banking posts a screenshot of every cheque that is written up and cashed for my account. I called the bank once I noticed funds missing, checked the screenshot...easily proved the cheques werent mine nor was the signature

And the funds were back in my account the next business day.

I guess it's the same as I dont understand the fear of having a credit card number stolen. Ive had charges that werent me show up before, Called Visa, told them it wasnt me...and the charges were reversed within a few business days.

Am I crazy here and just have a severe lack of paranoia? Asking for trouble? or what? I've received wires for copywriting from an array of countries from a variety of clients.

Guess I will learn the hard way?
 
juntao65 said:
Are you serious? I was under the impression only your bank could issue legit cheques that withdraw from your account.
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Are you serious? Haven't you seen those cheap insertion ads paid for by check printing companies that advertise all over the place? There are affiliate offers for check printing as well. Heard of Vistaprint?
 
Interesting, I wasn't aware that you could do any damage with that information.

It might be a good idea to have an incoming payments type of account and then a main account where the bulk of your balance resides to protect against this.
 
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