Why wire money

Wire transfers are generally safe and secure, provided you know the person who's receiving them. If you use a legitimate wire transfer service, each person involved in a wire transfer transaction should be required to prove their identity so that anonymous transfers are impossible.

International wire transfers that originate in the United States are monitored by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, an agency of the U. The agency makes sure the money sent overseas is not being used to fund terrorist activities or for money laundering purposes. In addition, they are also tasked with preventing money from going to countries that are the subject of sanctions by the U.

If the agency suspects that any of these scenarios are true, the sending bank has the authority to freeze the funds and stop the wire transfer from going through. Wire transfers may be flagged for several reasons, alerting officials to possible wrongdoing by either the recipient or the sender:. A wire transfer is most often used to transfer funds from one bank or financial institution to another.

No physical money is transferred between banks or financial institutions when conducting a wire transfer. Instead, information is passed between banking institutions about the recipient, the bank receiving account number, and the amount transferred. The sender first pays for the transaction upfront at their bank.

The sending bank sends a message to the recipient's bank with payment instructions through a secure system, such as Fedwire or SWIFT. The recipient's bank receives all the necessary information from the initiating bank and deposits its own reserve funds into the correct account.

The two banking institutions then settle the payment on the back end after the money has already been deposited. Wire transfers allow for the individualized transmission of funds from individuals or entities to others while still maintaining the efficiencies associated with the fast and secure movement of money. The sender can initiate a wire transfer quickly and the recipient can access the funds immediately as there are usually no bank holds on the money.

Wire transfers also allow people in different locations to safely transfer money to locales and financial institutions around the globe.

A wire transfer is generally safe and secure, provided you know the recipient. A legitimate service will vet the identity of each entity involved in a transaction so that anonymous transfers are impossible. This agency makes sure the money being sent overseas is not being used to fund terrorist activities or for money laundering purposes. They are also tasked with preventing money from going to countries that are the subject of sanctions by the U.

Payments Canada. Wells Fargo. Department of the Treasury. Personal Finance. Checking Accounts. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for Investopedia. For some requests, we won't have the exact fees from other banks and therefore will not be able to process it. If your request was in US dollars, you may try again in foreign currency —— this may help us determine the exact fees incurred for this transaction and enable us to send the wire request successfully.

For international wires initiated by a consumer primarily for personal, family or household purposes, you must contact us within days of the date we indicated to you that funds would be made available to the recipient. Please have the following information handy:. The name of the person receiving the funds, and if you know it, his or her telephone number or address.

We'll determine whether an error occurred within 90 days after you contact us and we'll correct any error promptly. We'll tell you the results within 3 business days after completing our investigation.

If we decide that there was no error, we'll send you a written explanation. You may ask for copies of any documents we used in our investigation. Please note that in the event you provide an incorrect account number or institutional identifying number, and we are not able to recover the funds, you may lose the amount of the payment order.

International wire transfers initiated by a consumer primarily for personal, family or household purposes may be cancelled within 30 minutes of confirmation for a full refund, including any fees. We'll refund your money within 3 business days of your request to cancel a transfer as long as the funds have not already been picked up or deposited into the recipient's account. If you initiated the international wire transfer through Online Banking, the best way to cancel is to Sign in to Online Banking ; select the Transfer tab and then select Send money to someone using their account number at another bank from the dropdown menu.

You can also call us at From outside of the U. If you initiated the international wire transfer at a banking center, you can get the transfer canceled by going to the nearest banking center or by calling us at Yes, someone with your account information can wire funds directly to your Bank of America account. There are a few exceptions, however.

Your wire transfer may be reversible if the bank that initiated the transfer made a mistake. For example, if the recipient received more money than he or she was supposed to, that issue may be resolved.

If you begin a wire transfer but change your mind about sending someone money, you may be able to cancel the transaction. A relatively new rule under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act says that consumers sending money internationally usually have the right to cancel their wire transfers for free within a minute period.

You can also reverse a wire transfer if the money is taking a long time to reach its destination or goes to the wrong account. For international wire transfers, note that you may also loose money if the currency exchange is lower on the date of the reversal.

In either case, make sure to consult your bank for additional fees or terms before sending money. Wire transfers provide a fast and secure method of sending money electronically. A wire transfer can be one of the more expensive ways to send money, especially through banks.

International wire transfers have another cost: exchange fees. These are the fees for exchanging one currency for another. Banks, both in the U. For both international and domestic transfers through nonbank providers, the flat fee can depend on the provider, amount, destination, delivery and payment options, and method of sending money, such as online or in person. For domestic transfers that are less urgent or involve a smaller amount, ACH transfers, such as external funds transfers , may be better.

Deliveries can take up to three business days, but they cost a few bucks at most. Wire transfers are a safe way to send money; they are secured by the transfer service provider, which must follow strict guidelines and rules, and sent via a secure electronic network. But be careful to not send money to the wrong person or to a scam artist.

Wire transfers are often used in fraud schemes. Scam artists might say you won a lottery or sweepstakes you never signed up for and then ask you to wire money to pay supposed fees. There are some exceptions.

This is one of several federal protections you have when sending international money transfers. There are just a few steps you need to take to complete a wire transfer:.