The contract terms for an IVF package, meaning what's refundable, what happens if a cycle is cancelled, and when balances fall due, are covered in our guide to deposits, refunds and cancellation. This article deals with the step after you've agreed to those terms: actually moving the money. How you pay affects whether you can dispute a charge, how much you lose to exchange rates, and how exposed you are to fraud.
Most international fertility clinics are legitimate businesses that take payments every day. But the combination of large sums, foreign bank accounts, emotional urgency and communication by email or messaging app is exactly what fraudsters look for. A few habits protect you from both the rare scam and the more common problem of a payment that goes astray.
Choosing a Payment Method
Clinics typically accept some combination of credit or debit card, international bank transfer, and sometimes an online payment platform. Each has trade-offs.
| Method | Strengths | Weaknesses | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit card | Dispute rights in many countries; clear record | Card exchange rates and foreign transaction fees; clinic may add a surcharge; limits may be too low | Deposits, medications, smaller balances |
| Debit card | Easy and immediate | Generally weaker protections than credit cards; money leaves your account at once | Small, in-person payments |
| International bank transfer or wire | Handles large sums; often lower fees than cards at scale | Very hard to reverse once sent; most common target for fraud | Large balances, after verifying bank details |
| Currency transfer service | Often better exchange rates than banks | Same reversal problem as wires; another party in the chain | Large balances, after verifying bank details |
The US Federal Trade Commission recommends using a credit card when you can because it offers stronger protections and lets you dispute charges (FTC, 2026). For IVF abroad, a common approach is to put the deposit and smaller items on a card, and use a verified bank transfer only for the large balance if the clinic or your card limit requires it.
Dispute Rights: What a Card Can and Can't Do
In the US, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says to report a problem to your card company right away and to send a written billing-error notice within 60 days after the charge appeared on your statement. The card company then has 30 days to acknowledge your dispute, and you should keep copies of everything (CFPB, 2024). The CFPB notes that disputes about defective goods or services may follow a different process, which has its own conditions.
Two cautions specific to IVF. First, a card dispute is a tool for billing errors, fraud and services not provided, not for an unsuccessful cycle. No clinic can guarantee a pregnancy, and a negative result isn't a billing error. Second, card protections vary by country and by card issuer. If you're outside the US, ask your bank what applies before relying on it.
Verify Who You're Paying
The most damaging payment fraud in medical travel isn't a fake clinic. It's a real clinic whose emails are spoofed or intercepted, so a patient receives a convincing message saying the bank details have changed. The money goes to the fraudster, and the clinic never sees it.
Protect yourself with a simple routine:
- Get bank details from an official source. Ideally from a signed invoice or contract, or from the clinic's secure patient portal.
- Confirm by phone. Before your first transfer, call the clinic on a number you found yourself, such as the one on its official website, not a number in the email with the bank details. Read the account details back to them.
- Check the account name. It should match the clinic's legal business name, not an individual's personal account.
- Treat any change as suspicious. If you get a message saying bank details have changed, stop and call before paying. Legitimate clinics rarely change accounts mid-treatment.
- Send a small test payment for a large wire if you're unsure, and confirm receipt before sending the rest.
Red flags the FTC warns about
The FTC says anyone who insists you pay only by bank transfer, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, payment app or gift card is probably a scammer (FTC, 2026). Bank transfers are a normal way to pay a clinic abroad, so the warning sign is insistence: a clinic that refuses every other method, demands payment to a personal account, pushes for crypto or gift cards, or pressures you with a deadline. Look up the clinic's name with words like "scam" or "complaint" before paying.
Other Warning Signs Specific to IVF Abroad
- Full payment demanded before any medical review. A reputable clinic reviews your history and tests before quoting a final plan.
- Prices far below everyone else's with no clear explanation of what's included.
- A "coordinator" asking you to pay them rather than the clinic, with no written agreement explaining their role.
- No itemized invoice or a refusal to put terms in writing.
- Communication only through a personal messaging account with no official email domain or website.
- Urgency such as "this donor will be gone tomorrow unless you pay now."
None of these proves fraud on its own, but each is a reason to slow down and verify. Our guide to vetting an IVF clinic abroad covers licence and accreditation checks you can do before money changes hands.
Currency: Which Side Should You Pay In?
Clinics price in euros, pesos, dollars, korunas or lira. When you pay by card, the card terminal or online checkout may offer to charge you in your home currency. This is usually called dynamic currency conversion, and the rate is set by the merchant's payment provider rather than your card issuer. Before accepting, compare it with the rate your own card would apply and any foreign transaction fee your card charges. If your card has no foreign transaction fee, paying in the clinic's local currency and letting your issuer convert is frequently the simpler choice, but the only way to know is to compare the two figures on the day.
For large transfers, compare the total cost of a bank wire (fees plus the bank's exchange rate) with a specialist currency transfer service. The difference on a five-figure payment can be noticeable. Whichever you use, look at the amount the clinic will actually receive, not just the fee.
Exchange-rate risk over a long cycle
IVF payments often stretch over months: a deposit at booking, medications, a balance at treatment, storage fees later. Currencies move in that time. If your budget is tight, ask the clinic whether it will fix the price in your currency, or consider paying the balance earlier if the terms allow. Don't take on speculative currency products to save a small amount; the aim is predictability.
Paying for Medications
Medications are often paid separately, sometimes to a pharmacy near the clinic, sometimes to a specialty pharmacy at home. Ask for itemized receipts for each purchase, keep them with your clinic invoices, and pay by card where possible. If a coordinator offers to buy medications on your behalf for cash, ask for receipts from the pharmacy itself. Our guide to medication costs internationally covers pricing differences.
Paying Through Facilitators
Some patients use an agency or coordinator who handles bookings. If that service collects money and passes it to the clinic, ask for a written agreement that says exactly which amounts go to the clinic, which are the facilitator's fee, and what happens if the clinic cancels. Better still, ask whether you can pay the clinic directly and the facilitator separately. That keeps the clinic's invoice clean and gives you a direct record. Our article comparing facilitators and direct booking goes into this in more detail.
The Payment File
Keep everything in one folder, starting with the first deposit:
- The signed treatment plan and price quote
- Each invoice, itemized, in the patient's name
- Proof of each payment: card statement lines, transfer confirmations
- Written confirmation from the clinic that each payment was received
- Any messages about bank details, with the date and how you verified them
- Pharmacy receipts
This file is useful for more than disputes. US patients may need it for the medical expense deduction, Canadians for the Medical Expense Tax Credit, and anyone switching clinics later will need proof of what was paid for. See our guides on US tax rules and the Canadian tax credit.
If Something Goes Wrong
If you think you've sent money to a fraudster, the FTC advises contacting the company you used to send it immediately, reporting the fraud and asking whether the transaction can be stopped or reversed. In the US, you can also report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov (FTC, 2026). Speed matters: a wire caught within hours is far more likely to be recovered than one discovered a week later. Then tell the real clinic, which may be able to warn other patients and secure its email.
For a billing problem with a legitimate clinic, such as a duplicate charge or a service not provided, start with the clinic in writing. If that fails and you paid by card, follow your card issuer's dispute process within its deadlines.
Quick Reference
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Pay the clinic's legal business account | Pay a personal account |
| Verify bank details by phone on a number you found | Trust bank details that arrive by email alone |
| Use a credit card where possible | Pay with gift cards or crypto |
| Compare the conversion offer with your card's own rate | Accept a conversion offer without checking the rate |
| Get a written receipt for every payment | Hand cash to intermediaries without receipts |
Paying a clinic abroad safely isn't complicated. It comes down to knowing who you're paying, choosing a method you can trace, and pausing whenever someone tries to rush you.
This site covers where — destinations, laws, costs, and logistics. For what — protocols, medications, add-ons, and what the evidence actually says about treatment itself — our sister site covers the science.
Explore the treatment science at ivftherapy.co →