Bowman Offshore Bank Transfers How to Send an International Wire Transfer | Page 2

This is why banks work with intermediary or correspondent banks, to facilitate international transfers of
funds. Unfortunately, this means another layer of information, including the recipient bank’s account
number with the intermediary bank. If any of the information is missing or not included in the
instructions in the expected format, the wire can be rejected, as it was for my Los Islotes buyer.
Most folks don’t send international wires on a regular basis, and, even if you do, it’s hard to keep up with
all the particulars.
The easiest strategy these days is to initiate a wire online. The trouble is that online systems
don’t work when trying to send a wire using a bank that requires several layers of intermediate and final
beneficiary details. In a situation like that, you have to go into a bank branch to initiate the transaction in
person.
When you do, don’t stand in line and wait your turn to speak with a teller. The typical bank teller in the
typical neighborhood bank has never sent an international wire and probably wouldn’t be able to find the
transfer’s destination on a map. You want to speak instead with a personal banker or a manager.
Engage the conversation confident in the fact that your bank can, indeed, wire your funds where you want
them to go. Don’t let the banker you speak with try to tell you otherwise. Also, don’t let the banker try to
talk you out of the transaction altogether. It’s your money, not his. What you do with it is none of his
business (unless he’s also your money manager). You don’t have to justify your plans to him or anyone
else (well, maybe to your spouse).
Wire Transfer Terminology and Fundamentals
Here are some fundamentals and some terminology for reference.
U.S. banks use what is called an ABA number, which identifies banks within the U.S. banking system. If
you’re transferring money from one U.S. bank to another, all you should need is the recipient bank’s ABA
number and the beneficiary’s name and account number (maybe their address, too).
International banks are identified by what’s referred to as a SWIFT code. A SWIFT code is all letters, no
numbers, and it should be all you need for most international wire transfers. Sometimes the sending bank
will require the intermediary bank’s details, as well, including that bank’s SWIFT code.
In Europe, the system is much simpler in my view and is based on the IBAN number. This is an
aggregated number that includes the bank identification and the recipient’s account identification along
with some other numbers to guide the transfer through to the recipient. With an IBAN number, nothing
else is required for the money to arrive where it’s supposed to arrive, though most banks still request
account names for confirmation.
Sending a wire from one currency to another creates further complications. Again, from a reader last
week:
“The bank says they can’t send a wire to Singapore for me because they don’t have any Singapore dollars.”
Another case where the teller had no idea what he was talking about. The teller was correct when he told
your fellow reader that his bank didn’t have any Singapore dollars to send, but that’s irrelevant. That’s
what currency exchanges are for. In the case of a small local or regional bank, it may be necessary for your
banker to contact his correspondent bank first, before initiating the wire, to get the exact U.S. dollar
amount required to send the specific foreign currency amount, but don’t let your banker tell you he can’t
send the wire at all. That’s just not so.
When sending a wire online, you typically can elect to transfer the funds in your currency or in the
currency of the recipient. Again, online is always easier when it’s an option.