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Wire transfer: the long road, and who charges for the trip
It is the classic international transfer. It can pass through banks you never chose, and each one may keep a share before it arrives.
You send a round amount and one that is not round arrives. There is no fee on the statement, nobody warned you, and the difference is real. That usually means the payment travelled as a wire transfer.
What it actually is
A wire transfer is an international payment sent from bank to bank over interbank messaging. When the two institutions have no direct relationship, the payment leans on correspondent banks that act as bridges.
Why the amount changes along the way
| Who takes part | What they can charge | Shows on your statement |
|---|---|---|
| Your bank | Its sending fee | Yes |
| The intermediary banks | A per-leg charge, deducted from the amount | No |
| The recipient's bank | A receiving fee | On the recipient's statement |
Nobody is hiding anything, and you still can't see it
An intermediary's charge is not levied by your bank, so your bank cannot list it. The only way to know it is to compare what left with what arrived, the method we recommend in the mistakes that cost you money when sending money home.
When that road isn't needed
If the operation is in euros and both accounts sit inside the SEPA area, the payment goes directly between institutions and picks up no intermediaries. It is explained in what SEPA is.
Where you will be asked for it
When a payment crosses currencies or leaves the area, and on forms that ask for the institution identifier alongside the account number. That identifier is the SWIFT or BIC code.
Related terms
Its batch counterpart is ACH, and the timing of each road is in how long a transfer really takes. The rest is in the glossary.
This is not financial, legal, tax, or investment advice.
Questions on this topic
Why did less money arrive than was sent?
Because intermediary banks can take part in the trip, and each may deduct its charge from the amount before passing it on. It does not show as a fee on your statement because your bank did not charge it: someone along the way kept it.
Can I choose which banks it passes through?
Generally no. The route is determined by the relationships between institutions, not by the sender. What you can choose, where the option exists, is the road: a euro payment inside the SEPA area needs no correspondents.
How long does it take?
It depends on how many legs it crosses and on the business days and cut-off times of each, so there is no single number. That is why two identical transfers between the same countries can take different amounts of time.
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