Using Downloads of Accounts

[marcus.wolschon at googlemail.com]

On Tue, 19 May 2009 11:01:12 -0700, Robert Smits <bob at rsmits.ca> wrote:

> I have no idea what a SEPA-transaction is, but cheques are stilled widely
> used 
> in both the US and Canada at least.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Euro_Payments_Area
It uses the same BIC and IBAN -numbers that have been
in use for international money-transfer (e.g. using SWIFT)
for decades now.

Just to get you up to speed on the situation outside your
one, distant continent:

I'm transfering money to japanese, german, swizer and
us-accounts regularly using SWIFT and SEPA-transactions
to pay for goods and services. It's the usual way of paying
for things and as easy as a conventional transaction to
another one's account in the same country.
Just enter 2 numbers, amount and name in
your online-banking, enter one of the TAN (onetime-password)
from the list and it's done. There aren't any fees if you
stay within the european union, so it's far cheaper and
much more secure then credit-cards. BTW: only few people
here have credit-cards. As for example students in austria
have no way of getting a CC they are excluded from using
paypal as they offer deduction from your bank-account only
in Germany, not in Austria.

I think I remember seeing an actual paper-checque a few
years back. It would have been more expensive to transfer
the funds to my account then the value printed on it so I
threw it away.
I have no idea how that guy got the idea that it was even
remotely safe to send a paper that is worth money in an
envelope.

Marcus