Bank issues
December 6, 2024 5:56 AM Subscribe
I want to send money to someone in need. My US bank is refusing to accept my Bill Pay requests to send a check. Thus far three have failed. I tried Zelle, but it put the request on hold and demanded I call it. But I am in Europe and neither my US eSim nor my European Sim are letting me dial the 800# to verify my existence. I cannot download the Cash app because, again, I am in Europe. Is wiring the money my only solution?
Note: I just looked at my European bank's instructions on how to wire and nearly burst into tears because my ADHD is a terrible mix with the form required. That is why I am attempting to find another method to send the money. Also: My PayPay account is not working. Sigh.
Note: I just looked at my European bank's instructions on how to wire and nearly burst into tears because my ADHD is a terrible mix with the form required. That is why I am attempting to find another method to send the money. Also: My PayPay account is not working. Sigh.
Have you looked at Wise? I've only ever used it in the other direction, but it was pretty easy.
posted by BungaDunga at 6:48 AM on December 6 [3 favorites]
posted by BungaDunga at 6:48 AM on December 6 [3 favorites]
If you do end up having to wire money, you might want to look at Remitly. I've only used it to send from the U.S. outward, but it looks like it works to send to the U.S. from a number of European countries. I found it pretty easy!
posted by limeonaire at 7:01 AM on December 6
posted by limeonaire at 7:01 AM on December 6
Do you use WhatsApp? Could probably make the call with it to make Zelle work.
posted by leslies at 7:21 AM on December 6
posted by leslies at 7:21 AM on December 6
Note: I just looked at my European bank's instructions on how to wire..
My mobile bank app (ING in the Netherlands) allows me to do EU transfers (using an IBAN) or international money transfers. This is different than a wire transfer. It may be called 'International' or 'World' payment.
Wise is what I use. Its pretty easy. I send money to the US all the time this way.
As for 800 numbers, I use Skype for that which allows you to call US numbers. There's all sorts of plans available too.
It has taken me years as an American in Europe to figure out what makes my life easier but Wise and Skype have been invaluable. When I visit the US, I use a Wise Visa Debit card which draws from a Wise multi-currency account. I have a Skype US number as well which anyone in the US can call and I use if I have to put in a US phone anywhere. Just mentioning all this in case what is now a one-time need becomes a recurring one!
posted by vacapinta at 7:23 AM on December 6 [1 favorite]
My mobile bank app (ING in the Netherlands) allows me to do EU transfers (using an IBAN) or international money transfers. This is different than a wire transfer. It may be called 'International' or 'World' payment.
Wise is what I use. Its pretty easy. I send money to the US all the time this way.
As for 800 numbers, I use Skype for that which allows you to call US numbers. There's all sorts of plans available too.
It has taken me years as an American in Europe to figure out what makes my life easier but Wise and Skype have been invaluable. When I visit the US, I use a Wise Visa Debit card which draws from a Wise multi-currency account. I have a Skype US number as well which anyone in the US can call and I use if I have to put in a US phone anywhere. Just mentioning all this in case what is now a one-time need becomes a recurring one!
posted by vacapinta at 7:23 AM on December 6 [1 favorite]
I don't know what the origin country is and how things work there, and if Wise or similar serve your country that would probably be the easiest and cheapest way.
However, I once had to send money to the US from a country where apps weren't an option. Wire transfers from the bank itself were an option, but much more expensive than what I ultimately did. Which was: withdraw actual cash from the bank, go to the post office, and use their wire transfer service to send to the US bank account. (The post office offered both Western Union and EuroGiro; there was some reason I had to use EuroGiro, though I don't remember what it was.) All the information that I needed was the receiving bank account's number and the US bank's international wire transfer (SWIFT? I don't remember) number for incoming transfers. I remember asking the clerk at the post office to make sure I filled out the form right. (I think there was an option to do it online, but I didn't trust the website and wanted to be able to ask a human questions.)
Note: It felt pretty nerve racking to just send money off into the ether. It wasn't urgent so I sent a small transfer first just to make sure I was doing everything correctly, and then after a few days when that went through I sent the larger amount.
Anyway hopefully you have easier and cheaper options these days, but that was the old-school way and it worked fine. If you do want to just go through your bank but the form is daunting, see if you can go to a branch in person and tell them you need them to help you do it.
One more thing though:
I am in Europe and neither my US eSim nor my European Sim are letting me dial the 800# to verify my existence
Can you call other 800 numbers without issue? If not, make sure you've used a +1 in front for the US country code.
posted by trig at 7:25 AM on December 6 [1 favorite]
However, I once had to send money to the US from a country where apps weren't an option. Wire transfers from the bank itself were an option, but much more expensive than what I ultimately did. Which was: withdraw actual cash from the bank, go to the post office, and use their wire transfer service to send to the US bank account. (The post office offered both Western Union and EuroGiro; there was some reason I had to use EuroGiro, though I don't remember what it was.) All the information that I needed was the receiving bank account's number and the US bank's international wire transfer (SWIFT? I don't remember) number for incoming transfers. I remember asking the clerk at the post office to make sure I filled out the form right. (I think there was an option to do it online, but I didn't trust the website and wanted to be able to ask a human questions.)
Note: It felt pretty nerve racking to just send money off into the ether. It wasn't urgent so I sent a small transfer first just to make sure I was doing everything correctly, and then after a few days when that went through I sent the larger amount.
Anyway hopefully you have easier and cheaper options these days, but that was the old-school way and it worked fine. If you do want to just go through your bank but the form is daunting, see if you can go to a branch in person and tell them you need them to help you do it.
One more thing though:
I am in Europe and neither my US eSim nor my European Sim are letting me dial the 800# to verify my existence
Can you call other 800 numbers without issue? If not, make sure you've used a +1 in front for the US country code.
posted by trig at 7:25 AM on December 6 [1 favorite]
Are you trying to something like $50 or something like $1,000 or $2,000? That will make a difference in the modes of transfer available.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 7:36 AM on December 6 [1 favorite]
posted by Winnie the Proust at 7:36 AM on December 6 [1 favorite]
Also: My PayPay account is not working. Sigh.
On the chance this is not a typo and you are in fact referencing the (primarily) Japanese PayPay app, are you able to use the PayPal service?
From the USA, I have used PayPal to send/receive money with friends in Canada, the UK, and several countries in Europe. Currency conversion is done on the fly, and you can send funds from a credit card (for a fee) or from a linked bank account. It takes a couple of days to fully link the bank account; once you enter your bank account information, PayPal will make a couple very small (less than a dollar) deposits to that account, you report what the amounts were and then it withdraws those amounts and you're done. They do have a fast(er) option, at least in the US, where you can provide your login credentials for your online banking, but who on earth would do that?
I've sent anywhere from $20 to recently $2,100 to Canada, and it all went through nearly instantly.
From Europe (or, presumably a European SIM), you should be able to dial a US 800 number (any US number, really) by dialing 00 (Europe's international access code) 1 (the country code for the US) and the number. So, 00 1 800 xxx yyyy.
posted by xedrik at 7:49 AM on December 6
On the chance this is not a typo and you are in fact referencing the (primarily) Japanese PayPay app, are you able to use the PayPal service?
From the USA, I have used PayPal to send/receive money with friends in Canada, the UK, and several countries in Europe. Currency conversion is done on the fly, and you can send funds from a credit card (for a fee) or from a linked bank account. It takes a couple of days to fully link the bank account; once you enter your bank account information, PayPal will make a couple very small (less than a dollar) deposits to that account, you report what the amounts were and then it withdraws those amounts and you're done. They do have a fast(er) option, at least in the US, where you can provide your login credentials for your online banking, but who on earth would do that?
I've sent anywhere from $20 to recently $2,100 to Canada, and it all went through nearly instantly.
From Europe (or, presumably a European SIM), you should be able to dial a US 800 number (any US number, really) by dialing 00 (Europe's international access code) 1 (the country code for the US) and the number. So, 00 1 800 xxx yyyy.
posted by xedrik at 7:49 AM on December 6
You're trying to send money from a US bank account to someone located in the US, correct?
Does your bank indicate why they are rejecting the bill pay requests?
What happens when you try calling the 1-800 line for Zelle from your US mobile number? Do other 800# lines work? How about regular US phone numbers? Maybe check your international roaming settings.
Otherwise, if none of the issues above can be resolved I'd recommend using Wise to transfer from your EU account to the US recipient. It's pretty easy to set up and use.
posted by 4rtemis at 7:53 AM on December 6
Does your bank indicate why they are rejecting the bill pay requests?
What happens when you try calling the 1-800 line for Zelle from your US mobile number? Do other 800# lines work? How about regular US phone numbers? Maybe check your international roaming settings.
"I cannot download the Cash app because, again, I am in Europe."If you are on an iPhone and have a US credit/debit card and billing address, you can get around the region lock by changing your App Store region setting to the US.
Otherwise, if none of the issues above can be resolved I'd recommend using Wise to transfer from your EU account to the US recipient. It's pretty easy to set up and use.
posted by 4rtemis at 7:53 AM on December 6
Response by poster: Thanks for all the advice! I just ended a long and expensive call to a regular US number for my US bank and got the matter resolved. Appreciate the responses and am happy to have them available for myself and others in the future to explore.
posted by Bella Donna at 8:44 AM on December 6 [1 favorite]
posted by Bella Donna at 8:44 AM on December 6 [1 favorite]
I'm glad to see that you've resolved the matter. I'll add this anyway, just in case it's useful:
In Mexico (where I live) US 800 numbers do not work as is, but if you replace the 8xx prefix with the corresponding prefix from the list below, they do. I don't know if this list (or something similar) works anywhere other than Mexico, but it's worth a shot...
Dial 00 + 1 + area code (3 digits) + phone number (7 digits)
For 800 substitute 880
For 888 substitute 881
For 877 substitute 882
For 866 substitute 883
For 855 substitute 884
For 844 substitute 885
For 833 substitute 886
posted by bricoleur at 10:30 AM on December 6 [3 favorites]
In Mexico (where I live) US 800 numbers do not work as is, but if you replace the 8xx prefix with the corresponding prefix from the list below, they do. I don't know if this list (or something similar) works anywhere other than Mexico, but it's worth a shot...
Dial 00 + 1 + area code (3 digits) + phone number (7 digits)
For 800 substitute 880
For 888 substitute 881
For 877 substitute 882
For 866 substitute 883
For 855 substitute 884
For 844 substitute 885
For 833 substitute 886
posted by bricoleur at 10:30 AM on December 6 [3 favorites]
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posted by Bella Donna at 6:09 AM on December 6