How To Conduct A Wire Transfer

International Bank Wire Transfer is the safest, most reliable method of transferring funds worldwide and is monitored by SWIFT. (www.swift.com)

How to process a transfer:

Step 1.

Contact your foreign exchange broker by phone or via the Internet and provide the following information: the name of the person or firm you are wiring money to, the bank's details, name, address or branch, IBAN or account number, and/or the SWIFT, BSB, Sort Code, Bank Code, etc.

Step 2.

Determine the amount of money you wish to wire transfer and when it needs to be in the recipient's account.

Step 3.

Complete the transaction through filling out the online form via the internet to initiate the transfer, or you may contact them by phone or fax, you may also scan and email your forms.

Step 4.

Confirm that the transaction took place. Ask for a faxed or e-mailed transfer confirmation or contact the receiving bank to confirm receipt of funds.

Please click on the wire transfer forms below and follow the directions above to initiate transfer.

How Wire Transfers Are Processed

Foreign Exchange companies offer foreign bank wire transfers and are most often an expedient method for transferring funds between bank accounts in the U.S. or sending a wire transfer internationally. A bank wire transfer explanation is below:

• The person or company wishing to conduct a transfer goes to foreign exchange brokerage house online and gives the foreign exchange broker the order to transfer a certain amount of money. The IBAN and/or BIC code are given as well, so the international bank knows where the money needs to be sent to and deposited to the correct account.
• The sending exchange broker submits the banking details to transmit a electronic message, via or through a secure system (such as SWIFT or FedWire), to the receiving institutional bank, giving the receiving bank the authority to clear the transfer with the incoming instructions given.
• The SWIFT or www.swift.com message will also include settlement instructions for the beneficiary. The actual wire transfer is not instantaneous: money or the funds can or may take several hours or even a few days to clear or move from the sender's account to the beneficiary receiver's account.
• Either the exchange broker holds the bank involved with an account or must hold a reciprocal account with the receiving bank or one another for funds to clear, or the payment must be sent to a corresponding bank with such an account, a corresponding bank for further benefit to the ultimate recipient and recipient bank.

Foreign Exchange Regulation

In the United States, domestic transfers and foreign wire transfers are governed by Federal Regulation Article 4A and J of the Uniform Commercial Code. The Crimes Enforcement Network which is governed by www.fincen.gov. is where reporting is done. The Federal Reserve Bank is responsible for domestic transfer between banks, this is the only way to transfer domestic transfers and is guaranteed by the FDIC. Over 98% of all wire transfers made internationally clear through SWIFT. Wire Transfer companies are required to be bonded and follow regulation(s) from FINCEN (www.fincen.gov). You make ask your foreign exchange firm for a print out showing their registration.

Security

A foreign exchange bank-to-bank wire transfer is considered the easiest and is the safest method to sending money for international payments. Foreign Exchange Brokers use a network of international banks to clear a wire transfer. Each account holder must have a proven identity domestic and internationally. Information contained and gathered in wires is transmitted securely through encrypted communications methods and procedures, then is sent through SWIFT in most cases. The price and cost of bank wire transfers varies greatly, depending on the type of bank and its location; in some countries, the fee associated with the service can be costly. This cost is not determined by the sending Foreign Exchange broker.

Wire transfers can be done through Foreign Exchange companies and are essentially the more simple way to transfer funds, the cost is about $25. International transfers involving the United States are subject to monitoring by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) www.ustreas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac, which monitors information provided in the text of the wire to ascertain whether money is being transferred properly to the correct beneficiary.

International

Most international transfers are executed and cleared through SWIFT, a co-operative society group, it was founded in 1974 by seven international banks, which operates a global network to facilitate and execute the transfer of financial messages. Using these messages, foreign exchange houses can exchange data for the funds transfer between these financial institutions. SWIFT's headquarters are located in the Baileywick of Brussels, Belgium, and La Hulpe. The society group also acts as a United Nations–sanctioned international-standards governing body, for the creation and maintenance of financial-messaging standards and enforcement. See SWIFT standards. (www.swift.com)

Each and every financial institution is provided an ISO 9362 code, also called a Bank Identifier Code (BIC) or SWIFT Code. These codes generally are eight characters long, but can be longer. For example: Deutsche Bank is an international bank, with its head office in Frankfurt Germany, the SWIFT Code for which is DEUTDEFF:

• DEUTT identifies Deutsche Bank
• DE is the country code for Germany
• FF is the code for Frankfurt

By using an extended code of 11 digits (if the receiving bank has assigned extended codes to branches or to processing areas is possible) allows the wire payment to be directed to a specific office. For example: DEUTDEFF400 would direct the wire payment to an office of Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt.

Foreign exchange firms making transfers or sending money within the European Union also use the International Bank Account Number, or IBAN.

United States

Foreign Exchange firms use SWIFT (www.swift.com) to send money to foreign banks in other countries through banks.