On 10/10/09 16:35, clipka wrote:
>> How do people who don't have computers handle sending money through
>> the mail, then?
>
> Why should they want to do that in the first place?
>
> In Europe (at least in Germany) it has been common practice for decades
> to get money to John Doe by just ordering your bank to transfer money
> from your account to John's.

	Over here they charge a not insignificant fee for that.

> I hear that in America it is virtually impossible to get money to
> someone else living someplace else without sending either script or a
> cheque via mail (where it can be stolen or lost, or the receiver might
> claim to never have received it; how, by the way, do you protect against
> such problems in the US?). Not so here in Germany; even between
> different banks, money transfer is everyday routine.

	If the receiver never got a personal check, and it literally was lost 
(as opposed to stolen), then it's no problem as the money is still in 
your account.

	If someone stole it and cashed it, you can make a claim and they'll dig 
up the check and see the signature of the guy who cashed it.

	With money orders, you get a number and you can essentially cancel the 
money order with that number.

> The other option, which I hear is specific to Germany, is to sign a
> contract entitling the /other/ party to initiate money transfers from
> your account to theirs ("Einzugsermächtigung"/"Lastschrift"). While at

	Some banks allow that here as well. More or less like you making a 
regular donation to some charity, etc.

-- 
BASIC isn't; C stands for Confusing...

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