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mcdonald0517
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Joined: 27 May 2012
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Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 1:32 pm Post subject: My Experience Sending Bank Wire to Przemysl Archives

Hi All,

I just wanted to summarize my experience using a low cost means of sending a bank wire to the Przemysl Archives to obtain a birth record for my grandfather. Please note, this is just for researchers living in the US who need to send a bank wire to Poland and want an inexpensive way to do so. Also note, this is based on my experience using a bank wire service one time. This is NOT an endorsement. Just a summary of my experience. Use such services at your own risk.

The archives in Poland wanted me to transfer via bank wire 5,00 PLN to their bank account in Poland. They provided me with instructions that included both a SWIFT/BIC number and an IBAN number to complete the wire transfer.

My bank and credit union wanted to charge me $45-$60 just to send 5,00 PLN (which is about $1.37) - outrageous! So I began looking for a less expensive means to send the wire.

I began searching online wire transfer services, but I did not want to put my credit card or bank account information online. Then I discovered that Western Union has in-person service locations that allow you to pay cash for the transfer. As it turned out, my local supermarket was a Western Union agent. I went in person and inquired about the cost of sending 5,00 PLN to Poland. The total transaction would cost me $6.37 and I could pay it in cash. If it was unsuccessful for some reason, then I would only lose $6.37. This seemed like a low risk option, so I decided to give it a try.

My next challenge was that Western Union did not have a means to include the SWIFT/BIC number for the transfer. According to their system, they only needed the IBAN number for Poland. However, the IBAN number given to me by the Archives was incomplete - it was missing an alphabetic country code indicator at the beginning of the number. So, I looked online and found a reference table for IBAN numbers with a list of country codes. The code for Poland was: PL

So, I took the risk. I went back to the Western Union agent at the supermarket in person and placed the bank wire using the country code PL in front of the IBAN number provided by the archives. It was successfully sent, and I paid for the transaction in cash. I was then given a receipt with a tracking number (MTCN #).

I went home and sent the Przemysl archives an email telling them the wire was sent, and attached a digital copy of my receipt with the MTCN #. I waited 3 days, and then called Western Union to verify that the bank wire was received in Poland. It was.

I continued to wait several more weeks (as it takes time for the archives to cycle back around to any communication because they are so busy). Finally, I received the scan of my grandfather's birth record from the archive.

So, my experiment using the local Western Union agent in person and paying cash seemed to work when transferring SMALL amounts of money to Poland. I recently made another research request from the Przemysl Archive, and when the time comes to make another bank wire, I may use Western Union again IF the fee charged by the archive is small. If I owe the archive a larger fee, I may consider going the bank route just to be safer in transferring larger sums of money.

I just wanted to share my experience with this forum. Again, I am NOT endorsing Western Union. As always, you must decide for yourself and use these kind of independent bank wire services at your own risk.

Best of luck to my fellow researchers,
Cynthia

Magroski49
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Joined: 10 Nov 2008
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Location: Joao Pessoa - Brazil
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Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 4:36 pm Post subject:

By the way, the Archiwum Diecezjalne in Wloclawek also accepts transfer through Western Union.

Gilberto

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