How to Send International Bank Transfers
If you need to do business with an individual or company outside of the United States, you may face certain challenges associated with differences in currency or security issues involved with sending money through international mail systems. A faster and safer way of getting funds to another country is through an international bank wire funds transfer. Transferring funds internationally is more complicated than sending a domestic wire transfer because more financial institutions are typically involved with the transfer, and funds must usually be converted into a different currency.
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Things You'll Need
- Receiving Bank or Financial Institution Information
- Name and Bank Information of Recipient.
Instructions
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Gather your personal information. The sending bank will need your name and contact information, which may include your telephone number or email address. If the sending bank requires you to have an account with it, you will need to provide the number of the account at the sending bank that you plan to use to fulfill the payment. You will need to supply the sending bank with the amount you wish to transfer in the currency of the receiving country.
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Gather the information for the recipient. You will need to supply the sending bank with the recipient's name, address and citizenship. The sending bank may also require additional recipient contact information, such as her telephone number or email address. You must supply the sending bank with the receiving bank's name, address and Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication number -- commonly referred to as its SWIFT number. SWIFT is a member-owned cooperative that financial institutions use to process international transactions. If the recipient is in Europe, the sending bank may also require you to provide the recipient's International Bank Account Number -- or IBAN. Your bank's international wire-transfer department can obtain the SWIFT and IBAN numbers by contacting the receiving bank. You must provide the sending bank with the purpose for the payment. Failure to provide the purpose may prompt the receiving bank to return the wire transfer.
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Include any special instructions that may be required to complete the wire transfer. You may need to supply the recipient's bank-account information. You may need to include additional contact information for the recipient. You should include any additional information needed for identification of the transfer's destination, such as purchase-order numbers, invoice numbers, or pay-to-the-order-of instructions.
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Follow up on your international bank transfer to ensure that it was received. International wire transfers may take up to seven days to post, according to the USAA Federal Savings Bank. If seven days have passed without the funds being received by the recipient's bank, you may need to request a tracer, also referred to as an investigation, to find out where the problem occurred. Banks may charge additional fees for this service.
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Tips & Warnings
International bank transfers usually charge a fee for both the sender and the recipient. Contact your local bank to see how much an international transfer will cost.
There are many scams out there regarding bank and wire transfers. If you need to perform an international transfer, make sure you do it through a reputable bank or financial institution.
References
Resources
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