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WHERE TO EXCHANGE MONEY?
Basically it is our experience that an exchange of EURO in US dollars is cheaper and better in EUROPE. We ALWAYS trade in Germany and take the dollars in the breast bag to the States. If you decide to procure US dollars in the US, you should in any case take two cards with you: (1) a VISA or MASTER credit card and (2) an EC bank card with the MAESTRO brand mark and PIN. Without MAESTRO characters, the card is worthless.
Make sure that your limit on what you can withdraw daily is high enought and the bank fees are in your expected range. Keep in mind that taking away a few small amounts of money will waste valuable holiday time.
A tenant informed us in FEB 2018 : We got the money here in Naples, because the exchange rate in Naples is better. In Germany you would have paid about 1185 for $ 1390. When picking up here it was only 1135, including $ 9 fee of the bank. $ 9, because the withdrawal with the Visa card is limited to the equivalent of a maximum of 500. You have to make three withdrawals and each costs $ 3. It's also a good idea to pick up the money at Chase Bank in Naples, where you can withdraw $ 600 at once. For the "Bank of America" you could only withdraw $ 200 per transaction.
 
Can I pay the rent in US-Cash to the caretaker?
  YES, if there is no given US bank account number on the rental contract nor payment plan. Please get in touch with the caretaker the day after arrival in Naples.
 
Can I pay the rent on an US bank account in cash?
  Some owners give their US bank account number, and the European tenant can either make a Dollar transfer (here or see below) from Europe or go to the US bank to make a deposit in USD cash or USD checks. Until the end of 2017, the on-site deposit was free of charge and readily available at any branch of the account-holding bank. You had to have the surname of the account holder, the account number and the BIC or routing number and you were done. From 2018, some banks will stop accepting cash. The solution is a bit awkward but easy:
  1. You still go to the landlord's bank and try to deposit the cash into the owner's account. It may be that something has changed. Bank employees will say, "go to PUBLIX and buy a MONEY ORDER and come back with it".
  2. You go to a branch of the food chain PUBLIX (Customer Service) and "buy" in the amount of the rent a so-called MONEY ORDER (for a small fee). But beware: The MONEY ORDER is like cash - do not lose!
  3. With this MONEY ORDER you go to the US bank of the landlord and pay the rent. Keep the receipt for your records!
  4. In this regard a renter sent us this link in FEB 2018: Money Order at PUBLIX.
 
Can I wire-transfer money to the States?
  Since a couple of years 'TransferWise.com' is a cheap and safe provider for transferring money to the USA. We tried it many times to transfer money from EUROPE to the UNITED STATES and it works fine.
It costs approx 0.5 % if you transfer EUR 1000. It costs up to 1.0 % if you transfer less money.
Before starting the online-transfer from
*** your bank account in Europe OR
*** your debit card OR
*** your credit card (additional 1.7 % fee)
you have to know:
  1. FIRST NAME AND FAMILY NAME of the account owner (Receiving Bank).
  2. ACCOUNT NUMBER at Receiving Bank.
  3. NAME OF THE RECEIVING BANK.
  4. BIC/Swift: of Receiving Bank.
  5. ABA/ACH Routing Number of Receiving Bank.
  6. Is the receiving account a CHECKING ACCOUNT? YES or NO. In doubt: YES.

An alternative to 'TransferWise.com' is 'TransferGo.com' or 'Azimo.com', which is connected to FACEBOOK. But we have no experiences with it.
But 'TransferWise.com' is since 2012 our choice!
Another option is 'GIROXX'. It was told that they are being very cheap and have an excellent customer service.

  How I can pay the rental fee?
  In principle: Important is what is written in the contract regarding payment amount, respective currency and payment date and it is binding with respect on the DOWN PAYMENT, SECURITY DEPOSIT and FINAL BALANCE. If you want a different payment possibility (see below), then we ask you to mention this already in the contract.

  1. DOWN PAYMENT
    • Money transfer onto our Euro Account in Germany (we recommend it, if you living in Europe - exchange fee 3 Euros) or
    • US-Dollar-Check *) via postal mail to the landlord's representatives in the U.S.A. or
    • Credit Card **) (refer to our web site "Service") or
    • PayPal **)
    Please e-mail us about the above way to pay you picked. Don't forget to inform us. Only if we got the down payment the rental unit is 100% reserved for you.
  2. SECURITY DEPOSIT
    • Money transfer onto our Euro Account in Germany (we recommand if you live in Europe) or
    • a check in the currency of your country (e.g. USD, CHF)
    Please e-mail us about the above way to pay you picked. Don't forget to inform us.
  3. FINAL BALANCE
    • US-Dollar WIRE-TRANSFER (Money-Transfer) to the USA ***) or
    • US-Dollar cash or
    • US-Dollar Checks *) or
    • Credit Card **) (look also at our Web-Site "Free Service") or
    • PayPal **)
    The FINAL BALANCE (together with the registration and cleaning fee) is either due the day after arrival in NAPLES and should be paid to the landlord's representative
    or
    six weeks prior the beginning of the rental period. The payment terms are fixed in the rental contract.

*) US-Dollar checks have to be sent to landlord's representative. Call us before to get the name for PAYABLE TO... The address you'll find at the bottom of the rental contract.

**) Credit Card or PayPal payment are possible. But you have to consider that you have to increase the amount by 4%. This percentage is what we have to pay to the Credit Card Company. If you have to pay by Credit Card in regards to travel insurance matters - pay only the down payment or $100 by Credit Card.
Example: Amount due = $100. Plus 4% credit card fee = Pay $104 by Credit Card.

***) WIRE-TRANSFER is practically a money transfer from Europe to the USA. It costs different bank charges in Euros. In addition, however, the recipient's bank also incurs fees, which we unfortunately have to charge you.
Therefore, we strongly recommend that you use one of the aforementioned companies (TransferGo or similar) for the transfer, especially since you can specify EXACTLY the amount that should arrive at the recipient account.

Status: APR 2019