International wire transfers

[billbenson]

I have a quote to Indonesia for 20k that looks like it will turn into an order. Wire transfer only. There are a lot of Nigeria sort of scams from Indonesia although I don't think this is one. Still, it made me a bit nervous giving out my checking account number etc for the wire transfer so I opened a new checking account.

Does anybody know of any risks in giving out your banking information for a wire transfer; swift, aba, act name, act address. I talked with the bank and they didn't know of any, but suggested opening a new account just in case.

Not sure if this is the best place for this post steves, but it didn't seem to match other forums either. Please move it as you see appropriate.

[Spider]

Paypal is one easy way of dealing with payments without giving your banking details. Paypal works in many countries but I don't know if Indonesia is one of them.

Another way that would protect you and your client - www.escrow.com

I have used these people internationally (USA - Slovenia) and it worked exactly as expected. I'd use them again in a heartbeat.

[billbenson]

I'll take a look at escrow.com. I've had bad luck as a vendor with PayPal. They don't like large dollar charges. They aren't used by buyers at major corporations or field people who are issued credit cards either. They are more geared toward small transactions at the consumer level, not b2b. I would doubt this customer has even heard of them.

Wire transfers are clean and cheap for large deals. Just wondering if publishing my bank info for the transfer has any associated risk?

[pete]

Every time you write a check you are passing out all of your account details. And while I've never looked, I'm sure there must be a place where you can get the swift number for banks.

I can't think of any way they could get into your account just having that info. It's on my site where I wholesale and dropship electronics. There is a Print and Offline Order option that has all of that info right on the page.

And I know other sites that have it posted within the Contact Us page or somewhere similar.
.

[Dan Furman]

Does anybody know of any risks in giving out your banking information for a wire transfer; swift, aba, act name, act address.

All that stuff is on a normal check, isn't it? Or easily obtainable.

I don't see any risk.

[Dan Furman]

Every time you write a check you are passing out all of your account details.

I guess I should have read this before posting the same info :)

[Business Attorney]

I agree with the other posters. There is nothing unique about giving your account name and number in the context of a wire transfer that is any different than what you give out every time you give someone a check. The bank routing information is freely available, too.

However, people have been known get money out of checking accounts, even by relatively unsophisticated means (just see the movie "Catch Me if You Can"), so it never hurts to be careful. Using a new account in your case may be overly cautious, but it's easy enough to do, so why not?

[billbenson]

Actually the ABA number isn't on the check. The first series of numbers that you use for online bill payment isn't the same as the ABA number for wire transfers. It's probably pretty easy to call the bank and get the aba number though. Bank address and swift code aren't there either.

[Ad-Vice_Man]

From my understanding, banks that do international wire transfers hold onto the $ in their own sort of escrow, making sure it clears. before they release it to people. If they make a mistake with your account you have legal protection and the bank would be responsible.

The seperate checking account is a good "firewall" if you will though.

[billbenson]

From my understanding, banks that do international wire transfers hold onto the $ in their own sort of escrow, making sure it clears. before they release it to people. If they make a mistake with your account you have legal protection and the bank would be responsible.

The seperate checking account is a good "firewall" if you will though.

That's not what the bank told me, but my bank manager probably doesn't do a lot of international business either.

Where this stands now is the customer came back and said 50% wire transfer up front and 50% on proof of shipment. If they didn't pay the 2nd half I'd be out about 6k. Can't do that. I said that our terms for international orders are prepaid payment in full by wire transfer, but I could probably get accounting to accept 75% advance payment. Accounting happens to be me.

They didn't get back to me today which makes me more suspicious. Everything else appears ligit though. Large commercial website. Appear to be a large international firm. No bad mouthing on the internet. If they do accept my terms I'll do a D&B.

[Spider]

Have you looked into Letters of Credit - LOCs?

Pretty common among companies that regularly export and import stuff.

[billbenson]

Letters of Credit are used if you are going to extend terms to international clients. I don't do that much international business, but some here and there. Countries like Indonesia or Nigeria expect to be required to pay in advance. We used letters of credit when I was selling internationally in my last career.

In any case, 17k appeared in my bank account today. That covers my costs on the order so it looks legit. So at this point I either break even or make 6 or 7k on this one. Could be a nice end to a lousy month. Not from a place you would expect it either.

[Business Attorney]

Congratulations, Bill.