Paypal

I have postponed it long enough, I need to be able to pay abroad and, I have to be able to pay to and receive money from outside of Europe as well. To me this is not a straight forward affair. In Europe it is not customary to pay by credit card and, transferring money within the EU does cost nothing or, it costs as much as a national transfer.

Credit card payments cost money, paypal payments cost money. I would expect that credit card payments are more expensive and it seems customary that you pay your paypal bill with a credit card as well. I have the option to pay a paypal bill directly with my checking account. Intuitively this seems to be the option that is less expensive. So I have opted for this.

The question I am left with is how paypal compares with transferring money using traditional banking methods. As paypal exists for some time now, I am sure it will have had an effect on the banks. Paypal benefits from ubiquitous Internet and highly automated procedures, these benefits are available to banks as well...

One of these days I will know the answer to these questions.

Thanks,
GerardM

PS Yes, I am going to Taiwan :)