How Long Does It Take a Wire Transfer to Go Through?

A wire transfer is an electronic transfer of funds from bank to bank. If you do not have a bank account or the bank has closed for the day, a wire transfer can also be done through a company like Western Union.

There are two ways to initiate a wire transfer. A domestic wire transfer can be initiated online through your online banking if your bank is set up for online wire requests. Not every bank has the wire transfer option as a standard part of their online banking. If you do not see wire transfers available, call your bank and ask. The other way to initiate a domestic wire transfer and all international wire transfers is to go into the bank branch and request a wire transfer. At the bank you will have to fill out a wire transfer request form and sign authorizing the transfer from your account.

There is certain information you need to request a wire transfer through a bank. You will need the name and bank account number of the recipient as well as the ABA code for a domestic wire and the SWIFT code a an international wire of the receiving bank. Every bank has a unique ABA and SWIFT code. The name and address of the recipient bank is used to verify that you have the correct ABA or SWIFT code of the receiving bank.

How long does it take for a wire transfer to go through?

There are several factors that affect the length of time for a wire transfer to go through.

Funds Availability

Are the funds in your bank account and available? If not, the wire transfer will not go through until the funds become available. If you deposit a $500 check into your bank account and your bank makes funds available on the next business day, your wire transfer will not be processed until the next business day.

Time of Day

Wire transfers requested through a bank must be made before 5:00pm Eastern Time. Otherwise the request will be processed by the bank on the next business day.

Destination

Wire transfers between domestic banks are quicker than transfers to international banks. For international wires, the difference in time zone of the destination bank also affects the processing time.

Generally, if you request a wire transfer with available funds before 5:00 pm Eastern time, your transfer will be processed in a couple of minutes. If you make the request after 5:00 pm Eastern time your transfer will be processed at the open of business the next day.

Wire transfers to an international bank are withdrawn from the senders bank account the same day but may take one to two days to be deposited into the receivers bank account.

International wire transfers are completed more quickly through Western Union, but the recipient must pick up the funds at a Western Union location. An international wire transfer through Western Union is usually completed within 15 minutes. If the Western Union is closed at the destination location, the funds will be available the next business day.