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Home » Topics » Financial & insurances » Finances12/02/2009
FAQ: Payments in Europe
1. The seller is asking me to use the PayPal system to pay for my purchase on the internet. What is that?PayPal is a system for making payments on the internet, where a personal account is linked to your credit card. The system is already well-established with users of eBay and is used increasingly by on-line shops. PayPal allows you to make secure transactions on the internet. You can make and receive payments with it on the internet, without having to enter your card details for each transaction. It is a fast payment method. The seller pays a small amount for this service. If the item that you have bought is not delivered, you can lodge a complaint with PayPal, which will try to demand the amount back from the seller. If you bought on eBay, then you can in some cases benefit from additional protection up to €1000. 2. I saw a very attractive advertisement for a second-hand car on the internet.The seller is asking me to pay using Western Union. Is this trustworthy? Watch out! This is not a very secure method. To collect the money, the beneficiary only has to give the transfer code which he received from the sender. His identity is not always checked. This method is well-known to fraudsters, who abuse the relatively anonymous nature of the system to cheat people. They ask the buyer to pay using Western Union and then disappear with the money without leaving any trace. Western Union offers no protection to the sender of the money and cannot be held responsible if you are defrauded. For this reason Western Union itself advises customers only to use its services to send money to persons they know well (family, friends). You are therefore strongly advised not to use this system to make purchases via the internet, because you do not know the seller personally. 3. Which is the safest means of payment on the internet?When you buy an item or a service on the internet, there are various possible means of payment. If you buy a ringtone or a logo, then the money will be debited directly from your mobile phone. In other cases, payment by bank transfer, cheque or credit card is mostly suggested. Electronic payment offers the best protection against fraud. If for example a seller takes a larger amount than was stipulated in the contract, the bank or the card administrator will refund the fraudulently debited amount following an investigation. You sometimes benefit from additional protection when you use a credit card, for example, if the contract was not implemented (see question 7). Only enter your credit card number and expiry date on a secure site. You can recognise a secure site by the key or lock which appears at the lower right corner of the screen or when the internet address starts with https://. Nowadays you can also pay on many sites with Bancontact/Mister Cash. If your bank offers this possibility, then you can pay with the use of safe Web Banking. You will enjoy the same protection against fraudulent use as with a credit card. In any case, avoid making payments using Western Union or MoneyGram. These payment methods are solely suited for sending money to people you know (see question 2). 4. I bought an iron in France which is faulty. After several failed attempts to repair the device, the seller proposes to repay me by cheque but then I will have to pay bank costs. Am I obliged to accept a cheque?In Belgium cheques are hardly used any more, but they are in France, where sellers often use this means of payment. You are not obliged to accept a payment by cheque if this entails costs. Ask the seller to repay you by bank transfer. You are entitled to a refund of the entire amount without any additional costs. Moreover a seller will not have to pay any more costs for a transfer in euros of an amount less than €50,000 to a Belgian account than for a transfer in his own country. Do not forget to send the seller your BIC and IBAN codes so he can make the payment. You can find more information about cross-border payments in this article. 5. Do I have to pay costs if I take out money with my Maestro card in another country?The rate for withdrawing money and making payments with a Maestro card in euros in other EU Member States is the same as the rate in Belgium. If you have to pay costs when you withdraw money from a cashpoint in Belgium then you will have to pay the same costs for a withdrawal in Spain. This is also the case if you withdraw money with a credit card, but the costs for withdrawals with a credit card are often higher. If you make withdrawals in a currency other than the euro or if you make withdrawals outside the European Union then the costs can be higher (see question 8). Enquire at your bank about the precise costs for all these transactions. 6. I want to buy a washing machine from a German seller. Will I have to pay bank costs if I transfer the purchase price?A European Regulation states that the costs for a cross-border transfer in euros of an amount less than €50,000 must not exceed the cost of a transfer in one’s own country. Your transfer to a German account must not cost more than a transfer to a Belgian account. You will have to tell the bank the BIC and IBAN codes of the seller. If you do not do so, the bank can charge you additional costs. 7. I made a purchase on the internet which I paid for with my credit card. My parcel was never delivered and now the seller does not reply any more. What can I do?If you paid with a credit card then you will enjoy additional protection. It is best to contact the card manager who will carry out an investigation. If the outcome of the investigation is in your favour, then the card manager will credit your card and debit the seller’s card for the amount that he received unlawfully. 8. I took out £100 from a cashpoint in the UK. On my return to Belgium I see that additional costs were charged. Is this allowed?A European Regulation states that payments and cash withdrawals in euros in another Member State must not be any more expensive than in one’s own country. This only concerns transactions in euros. If you withdraw money in another currency, which is the case if you withdraw money from a cashpoint in the UK, then you can be charged additional costs. 9. My bank card was stolen during a trip to Sweden. I informed my bank the following day, but in the meanwhile more than €1000 was taken from my account. What can I do?The Belgian law on electronic money transactions determines that the holder of the card is responsible for the consequences of loss or theft of his card until he has notified his bank up to an amount of €150. The bank will reimburse you the stolen amounts after deducting the €150. In the case of gross negligence (for example if you keep your pin code with your card or fail to inform the bank in time) the bank may dispute any liability and refuse to reimburse you. Both in Belgium and in other countries you must therefore notify your bank immediately if your card has disappeared. chn/eap    |
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