PAYMENT METHODS UNSED IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

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1 PAYMENT METHODS UNSED IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

2 You are in a foreign country on holiday or a business trip and would like to purchase some products or services? Want to make purchases in another EU member state through the Internet? Wondering how to pay the products / services ordered and what payment method does the trader accept? You will find the answers to these questions in this material that provides information and tips related to the payment methods used in the European Union. The answers to these questions are found in this material that provides information and tips related to payment methods used in the European Union. Across the Euro zone, as a European consumer, you can do, besides paying with cash, cashless payments, no matter the Member State of origin and the Member State where you pay. Although cash payments are the most usual payment methods, we are currently witnessing the development of cashless payment systems, also called non-cash payments, including: Pay by credit card; Bank transfer; Pay by cheques. 1. Cash payment For the products/services purchased in the Euro area you can pay with euro coins and banknotes; Withdrawal of euro coins and banknotes from an ATM assume the same fees, whether the withdrawal was made on national territory or in another state in the euro area; For the products purchased outside the Euro area you will have to make the payments with a foreign currency which can be obtained both in your country of residence by using the services of banks/ exchange houses and in the country you are visiting from a local bank. 2. Pay by card Card payment is possible in most EU Member States, whether we speak of a sale-purchase agreement of a product or service signed verbally or remotely (by post, telephone or via the Internet); Ask the card issuing bank information about the card types accepted in the Member State of the European Union wanted; Before buying products/services, ask operators information on the admissibility of a card payment and on the accepted payment card brands; If you pay by card, make sure that the amount paid is the same amount printed on the receipt;

3 Keep receipts transactions to verify statements; Immediately complain in writing any illegal transaction; Never give your PIN; For online payment of products / services you can use PayPal and Money bookers, payment systems recognized in Romania too; Make sure you have received the electronic recording deals, when making online purchases; Notify the card issuing bank on the loss, theft or use without the right of your card or on the unauthorized use it; Card payment via the Internet involves some peculiarities regarding your liability limits, so your liability by bearing the loss occurs in the following situations: losses resulting from the use without the right of a credit/debit card until notifying this to the issuing bank, in which case you may have incurred losses amounting no more than 150 Euros or the equivalent in LEI of this amount; a loss resulting from fraud or intentional breach or gross negligence of one or more obligations that you have in regard to the use of credit / debit cards; in this case does not apply to the amount of 150 Euro; a loss resulting from the use without the right of a credit/debit card, even if you have not acted fraudulently, but have unintentionally violated the obligation to notify the bank about the loss, theft or use without the right of the credit/debit card or about any unauthorized use of it; in which case you may have incurred losses amounting no more than 50 Euros or the equivalent in LEI of this amount. 3. Payment by bank transfer (payment order) Payment by bank transfer requires you some knowledge about the bank details of the trader from whom you purchased the products / services, as the BIC, which shows the bank where there is the account of the trader and IBAN, which is the account number of the trader; For the bank transfers made occasionally, in order to execute them properly, you should give to the payment service provider the following information: the unique identification code and name / payee name, it s necessary to identify correctly the beneficiary, for Romania the unique code of identification is a combination between the IBAN account and the BIC / SWIFT bank code, the amount of the transaction, payment details, choice of how the commissions will be collected; Check that the instructions or communications sent to the bank are clear and contain the correct data; the bank is not required to verify the account holder name indicated in the payment order or its account number, the payment will be made to the account designated by you into the payment instruction. Execution time for payment orders are 3 days for international and intra-banking payments, with the possibility to extend it to 4 working days, when the payments are ordered by paper. Your bank may refuse to execute the payment order in the following situations: payment order is unclear or does not contain the instructions necessary, for example the unique identification code is not mentioned or the amount to be transferred is not specified; cash in your account is not sufficient for the payment itself and the payment of commissions due to the bank; there are provisions for stopping, for

4 sequestration or other provision of unavailability issued by another authority on the amounts from your account; you have outstanding debts to the bank; the transaction is not in accordance with the legal regulations in force. You must be notified about the refusal of enforcement of the payment; Payment order may be canceled until the working day prior to the day required for execution, but only if the execution day is in the future; the bank may charge a price for revocation Payment order cannot be canceled after it was received by the bank; Fees for cross border transfers in Euro are the same as for domestic transfers in Euro. 4. Pay by cheques Cheque payment is a less used method of payment in the European Union; In the Euro Member States you can use the method of payment with cheques for Euro payments only if the trader accepts it; Cheque payment shall be charged certain fees which vary from one bank to another.

5 Centrul European al Consumatorilor din România Str. Maior Aviator Ștefan Sănătescu nr. 44 Et. 1, Ap. 2, Sector 1, București, Tel/fax: Web: Co-funded by the European Union This infosheet is part of the action ECC-Net RO FPA which has received funding under a grant for an ECC action from the European Union s Consumer Programme ( ). The content of this material represents the views of ECC Romania only and it is its sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission an the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.