There are many reasons why people have to send money abroad. You may need to make a deposit for an offshore vacation home, send a tuition payment, or send money to friends and family who live abroad. Whichever the case is, you may have considered sending an international wire transfer. Wire transfers are a safe and reliable way to send money across borders. For a lot of people however, money is a sticky subject. When a payment is late by just an hour or two, you won’t hear the end of it!
But how long does an international wire transfer take? International wire transfers typically take anywhere between two and five banking days. The processing times vary, depending on several factors, such as the country where the recipient resides and bank cut-off times.
Chances are you’re looking to make a quick but equally efficient transaction. But unlike domestic wire transfers which usually take only a few hours, international wire transfers go through more checks and balances, which can significantly extend their time of delivery. But other options exist which offer lower transaction fees and higher exchange rates than you would find with traditional financial institutions.
Factors That Affect International Wire Transfer Speed
International wire transfers involve sending and receiving money using electronic means. The money is sent from one bank to the next without any actual physical cash being exchanged. Businesses are progressively relying more and more on cross-border transactions and require payments to go through as quickly as possible. Quick transfers facilitate a smoother cash flow and better customer satisfaction.
Before you decide to send money abroad quickly using a wire transfer, it’s best to consider the following factors:
Transfer Source or Destination
An international wire transfer between a U.S. bank account and a bank account in a developed country takes from two to five business days. Many countries in the developing world however, have older, incompatible banking systems. Sending or receiving money from these slow-to-pay countries may take up to three weeks. In the worst case, the transfer may end up getting canceled. When sending or expecting funds internationally, it’s necessary to check with your bank for a list of these countries.
When the Transfer is Initiated
It’s a common slip-up to assume that everything that’s happening locally reflects on how the rest of the world operates. International wire transfers may go through two or more intermediary banks before reaching their final destination. As such, intermediary bank cut-off times matter just as much as local cut-off times.
While it’s difficult to predict how your transfer will be affected by bank cut-off times along its way to your recipient, weekends and holidays are easier to spot. If there’s an impending public holiday or weekend in your recipient’s country, they may have to wait to receive their money till the banks reopen.
Wire Transfer Processor
One of the most significant factors that affect how long international wire transfers take to reach their destination is the payment processor. While traditional banking institutions introduced and popularized wire transfers, other pathways are open for U.S residents who want to send money abroad using wire transfers.
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) system is the most commonly used by traditional banks. While SWIFT is reliable, it’s not the quickest way to send money internationally. Online financial institutions, such as Cashero, now provide quicker, less stressful ways to transfer money overseas. Most of these service providers don’t have cut-off times and work even during public holidays. Their standard processing times are also near-instant, so your recipient can smile all the way to the bank much sooner.
Transfer Details Accuracy
Another factor that can have a huge effect on the speed of an international wire transfer is inaccurate payment details. Payments are usually returned if you incorrectly entered any of your recipient’s information. The good part is that this aspect is fully within your control. Before you wire a transfer, you’ll need to double-check all the details including the recipient’s name, the name of their bank, their account number, and their SWIFT/BIC code.
Sending money with Cashero works a bit differently, but gets you the same result. Easily send money to other Cashero users and they can withdraw those funds at any time. Cashero works differently from a wire transfer by skipping the part where you have to enter all the recipient’s detailed bank information and does so in a timely fashion.
How to Track a Delayed Wire Transfer
Now that you understand how long an international wire transfer should take, what happens when a transfer is delayed or lost? Every wire transfer to or from a U.S. bank account passes through the Federal Reserve Bank where the transaction is assigned a distinctive ID. The ID has the transaction date, an identifier for the sender bank or receiver bank, and the sequence number. If an international wire transfer between a U.S bank and a foreign bank takes more than five days, check in with your bank to trace the transfer using the specific ID assigned when the transfer was sent. The tracer can check when the transfer was processed each step of the way between sending, intermediary, and receiving banks, in order to find where it currently is.
How is a wire transfer canceled?
If it’s been weeks and your wire transfer hasn’t reached its intended destination yet, and you’ve tried to track the money but to no avail, then it’s time to call it quits.
The good news is that a wire transfer can be canceled — the bad news is that you can’t do it directly. The transfer can only be stopped if the recipient’s bank gets instructions from the sending bank to cancel the transaction before it has already completed the transfer. If the initial transfer has any errors, such as replication of previous orders or having sent an incorrect amount of funds, they will reverse the transfer or amend a completed transfer.
Final Word
Wire transfers are a secure way to send money across international borders. Sending an international wire transfer via traditional banking channels can, however, be slow and frustrating. While it should take between two and five banking days to process a transfer, other factors may cause further delays. That’s why digital services, like Cashero, are gaining so much popularity – with the offering of instant transfers, no fees, and being available in over 60 countries – it’s hard to beat!
Content Disclaimer:
As of the date of publication, the information contained on this page is deemed to be factually accurate for all terms of conditions, features, and fees. Changes made to Cashero’s terms of conditions, features, or fees after the publication of this content may not be accounted for.
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The Cashero App is now available for download in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, though not all features are currently functional. Cashero has not yet officially launched.
