Wire transfers are a fast and secure way of sending and receiving money. But are wire transfer funds available immediately? Unfortunately, no. Although wire transfers have become more advanced these days, you don’t always get your cash instantly, especially if you are wiring money overseas. Funds can take between a few minutes to a few days before they become available.
What Affects Wire Transfer Speed?
Wire transfers, either bank-to-bank or sent as remittance payments, can take as little as 30 minutes or as much as five days, depending on where the money is going. There are a couple of factors that affect this, from the bank or remittance center’s policies to the time when you initiated the transfer.
Bank or Remittance Center
Large banks, particularly those with wide networks, typically process wire transfers much faster than smaller banks. They can often transfer funds between people with accounts at the same bank in less than an hour. International wire transfers typically happen within two business days. That may not seem very fast, but when you consider the international clearing processes required, a two-day transfer is pretty quick.
Smaller banks may take longer to process wire transfers, especially internationally. Bank-to-bank wire transfers are processed within a network of local and foreign banks. When small banks whose networks aren’t as extensive, process a wire transfer, the money has to pass through other banks before reaching its destination, this can cause significant increases in the required processing time.
Remittance centers also function the same way — the larger the center, the faster the transfer. That said, there may be delays when there are inconsistencies, for example, in the sender’s or receiver’s details. This is because the remittance center will have to verify the account information before releasing funds.
Location
A domestic wire transfer takes as little as a few hours to complete, as it only needs to go through one clearing process before the money can be transferred. An international wire transfer, on the other hand, takes longer because it goes through two clearing processes: one in the source country and another in the receiving country.
Wire Transfer Time
Wire transfers are processed during banking hours, so the time you initiate it affects how quickly funds can be transferred. For example, doing a domestic transfer in the morning means the transfer will be completed within the same day. When wire transfers are done at night, i.e. when banks are closed, they will be processed on the next day.
If you are waiting for wire transfer funds, you’ll have to account for weekends and holidays as well, since banks don’t usually operate on those days. So an international wire transfer initiated on a Friday, for example, might be completed on the following Wednesday instead of Monday since there are two non-banking days that followed the transfer request.
Type Of Transfer
Some banks and remittance centers offer expedited wire transfers for faster transfers. This is helpful if you need money transferred as soon as possible. But beware of the high fees that come with it!
Plus, there are now other options that enable people to easily send money for nearly free, anywhere in the world, instantly. Check out what we offer here at Cashero, by learning more about our transfer services.
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