How to Send & Receive Wire Transfers

With the correct information, a bank can transfer money to another bank almost instantly.

A wire transfer is an electronic transfer of money. The transfer is usually conducted by a bank that transfers funds from a sender's bank to a recipient's bank. To send money via wire transfer, you must initiate the transfer at your bank or a wire transfer service, such as Western Union. To receive a wire transfer, you must be the intended recipient and have a corresponding bank account where the money will arrive.

Things You'll Need

• Bank account information
• Identification
• Transfer confirmation

Instructions

Send Wire Transfers

1. Go to your bank's local office or to a wire transfer service. If you use a wire transfer service, make sure that the company is reputable and trustworthy and has expertise in transferring money.

2. Speak to a bank official or customer-service agent and provide this person with the required information. If you send money from a bank, you will need your banking information, the recipient's name, his bank's routing number, account number, and his bank's phone number and address. If you want to transfer money to an international bank account, you will need the recipient's bank's SWIFT code. If you send money from a wire-transfer service, you will need to know the recipient's name and also the wire-transfer location in his area where he will pick up the wire transfer. Depending on the company that you use, you may need to know the exact address of the wire transfer company's office where the recipient will pick up the money.

3. Tell the agent at the bank how much money you would like to transfer. If you are transferring money at a wire-transfer service, give the money to the agent in cash, check or credit card.

4. Pay the transfer fee. This fee will vary depending on the service you use and could be a flat fee or a percentage of the total transfer amount.

5. Get a receipt for the wire transfer. If you transfer money from one bank to another, ask for a confirmation that the transfer was successfully competed. If you use a wire-transfer service, ask for a confirmation number so that you can check to make sure that the recipient successfully received the money.

Receive Wire Transfer

1. Confirm the wire-transfer details with the sender. You will need to provide him with your name, bank account, bank routing number or international SWIFT code, if you are in a different country than the sender. If you will receive a wire transfer at a wire transfer office, provide the sender the exact details of the wire-transfer office, such as the exact address and telephone number.

2. Call your bank or log into your online bank account to see whether the wire transfer has arrived to your account. Depending on the type of transfer, the transfer could happen immediately, or could take several days. If the sender chose a wire-transfer service, such as Western Union, go to your local Western Union office and provide them with your identification. You can pick up the money as soon as the office receives notification of a transfer.

3. Pay any fee associated with the transfer. Depending on your bank or wire transfer service, you may have to pay a fee. This could be a flat fee or a percentage of the total transferred money.

References

• Investors Words: Wire Transfer
• Wells Fargo: Wire Transfer FAQs
• Odesk: Wire Transfer, Withdrawing Money

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish