Accepting International Payments Just Got Harder..


I deposited a Money Order from Japan today, and was met with quite a suprise. My Bank (National City Bank, Ohio) slapped a 45 day hold on the funds! Their reason, simply, it is an international Money Order/Check, and their Fraud Department decided to implement this new rule about 1 month ago (without alerting any of the banks customers), to protect their assets, because they have recently experienced a tremendous amount of fake/phony Mony Orders and Checks from international sources. This new rule (Federal Regulation "RegCC" applied to the extreme) applies to ANY non-USA source of funds (that means Canada too). Check with your bank before accepting a Non-USA Money Order, that's all I have to say. One last thing, look into "HyperWallet" for USA-Canada/Canada-USA shipping ( http://corp.hyperwallet.com/index.jsp )

Curtis
zorathustra
This is nothing new! A few years ago, my bank told me that a bank check from the UK would take a minimum of 30 days to clear. And since we have the best Congress that money can buy [or rent for a few years!] the banking regulation that went into effect this year is even more onerous. The customer no longer gets "the float" on interstate checks. When you write a check, the funds are withdrawn within 24 hours from your account, even though the check might not clear for over a week, when the funds are finally credited to the payee's account. The banking industry now makes additional BILLIONS annually on this new checking procedure, since they now get the interest on "the float".

Once again, the consumer takes it up a lower body orifice!
Fmpnd...Thanks for the lecture! But why can't the bank verify that the check is valid by some sort of electronic means? When I travel on Southwest Airlines I have in my pocket a paper printout of my E-Ticket, but the agent never really looks at it. All the information is in the computer. All I need is personal identification.
I recently received a Western Union payment for amplifiers sold to a guy in Beijing. No problem. I show up at the grocery store, which does WU, they hand me cash.
Fmpnd, great advice! Hope all is well with you! I strongly recommend wire transfers, having been through this with large overseas sales. A $25 or so fee should be expected if you are the recipient.
Brian
Hello from Australia...
I have done many a deal by now with fellow Audiogon members and only use Wire Transfer with XE.com for large sums...NO cost or delay involved on your end...takes usually about 3 to 5 days... I would not accept Bank Cheques or Money Order on any of my sales ,only Wire Transfer which means all funds are cleared !!! Paypal for smaller transfers !!! Thanks Helmut ....