Payment for services in Italy

[846newyorker]

How can I pay for services easily (e.g. documents from a municipality) in Italy? I don't think a U.S. personal check will work, and a wire transfer is a bit complicated. I don't think PayPal is accepted. Is there some easy way to send money good for euros from the States?

Thank you!

[johnnyonthespot]

How can I pay for services easily (e.g. documents from a municipality) in Italy? I don't think a U.S. personal check will work, and a wire transfer is a bit complicated. I don't think PayPal is accepted. Is there some easy way to send money good for euros from the States?

Thank you!

There is no good answer, especially when the amounts involved are small. I am convinced that is the reason most comuni do not bother requesting payment for documents although Italian law permits them to charge for copying and postage fees.

State archives (Archivio di Stato di [province name]) do routinely charge for copying/postage, typically an amount less than €5. In most cases, the easiest way to deal with this is to wrap a €5 note in a double sheet of paper marked "Tenere il resto!" (Keep the change!), put it in a non see-through envelope with a copy of the request for payment, and hope for the best. One state archive recently requested payment via wire transfer which is a shame as most US banks charge $20 to $50 per transaction for international transfers.

[KarenChristino]

I paid the State Archives in Euros (the smallest my brother could get from the bank was a 5 Euro note). They sent change back to me in Italian postage stamps. I used them when I requested another document from another province and they accepted them with no questions. (My GF's commune never charged me anything.)