Wire payment | Payments (2024)

One of the safest, most efficient ways to move money from your account into someone else's is to send a wire payment through your financial institution.

Wire payments between Canadian financial institutions are protected by a strong legal framework that enables trusted near real-time payments across Canada. This gives you an extra layer of confidence and security, which is especially important when you're dealing with a large amount of money or a time-sensitive situation.

When sending or receiving a wire transfer for business or personal matters, it is important that specific and complete information is provided to the sending financial institution.

Our framework doesn't cover wire payments sent or received through cash stores or other money transfer businesses. If you have questions about wire payments offered by those businesses, you should contact them.

How to send a wire payment through your financial institution

Contact your financial institution to find out whether they offer wire payments. Financial institutions may charge service fees for sending or receiving wire payments. It's a good idea for you and the recipient to confirm the amount of service fees and decide who'll cover them ahead of time.

Your branch needs the following information about the recipient:

  • name as spelled on the account
  • address
  • financial institution information, including:
    • account number where the funds are going (excluding spaces and special characters)
    • the branch name and address (including postal code)
    • the branch's routing information (3-digit Canadian financial institution number and 5-digit branch transit number)
  • the financial institution's SWIFT Business Identifier Code if available
  • the amount of the payment
  • the value date (YY/MM/DD format)
  • who will be paying the service fees (you, the beneficiary or both parties)

Routing information

If the recipient gives you the routing information, you can verify the information for most Canadian financial institutions in theFinancial Institutions Branch Directory.

SWIFT Business Identifier Codes (BICs) identify financial institutions and provide payment routing information in a standardized format that's recognized worldwide. BICs are also called SWIFT codes, since they're used by the SWIFT system for international wire transfers. BIC/SWIFT codes are available free of charge on theSWIFT website.

How your wire payment will travel

The recipient's financial institution will receive the wire payment message via Lynx, Canada's high-value payment system. They will deduct applicable fees and use the information in the payment message to deposit the payment in the recipient's account. Often, this happens in near real-time. The payment is final once it is in the recipient's account, and the recipient can use the funds immediately.

To learn more about wire payments, check outModule 06of our educational video series.

Wire payment | Payments (2024)

FAQs

Why is my bank rejecting wire transfers? ›

Reasons Why the Bank is Refusing Your Wire Transfer

Knowing how wire transfers work, now it's time to look into the reasons your bank may reject a wire transfer. If the account is opened in another currency. If the bank account is unavailable/closed or cannot receive payments. Because of the bank's internal policies.

Why won't my wire transfer go through? ›

Although the wire transfer process is electronic, errors can still happen. For example, you may have put in the wrong details for the recipient. One wrong number or incorrect spelling could cause a delay, or even cancellation. Or, you may not have enough money in your account for the funds to clear.

Why would a bank not accept a wire transfer? ›

There are many reasons why the bank may refuse, most of them involve potential fraud. A wire transfer could also be rejected, such as the bank account you are transferring to is closed.

What is considered a wire payment? ›

A wire transfer is a method of transmitting money electronically between people or businesses in which no physical money is exchanged. The sender is the one who provides all the instructions for the transfer, which may include the recipient's name, bank, account number, amount, and sometimes a pickup location.

Why would an international wire transfer fail? ›

Here are a few reasons that your international transfer didn't work: Transfer declined: The recipient's financial institution declined the transfer. Exchange rate expired: The exchange rate applied when you authorized the transfer is no longer valid. Currency not accepted: The currency of the transfer is not accepted.

Does every bank accept wire transfers? ›

Each bank or credit union has their own rules and regulations on sending and receiving wire transfers. Not all financial institutions offer both domestic and international transfers, though. As you'll see below, a number of banks don't offer international outbound wire transfers.

Can a wire transfer be lost? ›

Once initiated, the funds transfer is guaranteed. A transaction can only be stopped if the receiving bank gets a cancellation notice from the sending bank before instructions are processed to complete the transfer.

What happens if money is transferred but not received? ›

If money is transferred but not received, the sender should contact the bank or service used to initiate the transfer to track the transaction. They can also contact the recipient's bank to inquire if the funds have been received.

How long can a bank hold a wire transfer? ›

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.

What are the red flags for wire transfers? ›

It might be bizarre phrasing, awkward English, poor grammatical choices, incorrect punctuation, or simply weird spacing or capitalization. These all suggest that you may be dealing with someone other than a legitimate contact.

What could stop a wire transfer? ›

It can happen if:
  1. Your bank made an error in getting the recipient's account number right.
  2. The recipient received more money than you intended to send.
  3. There was an error in the wire transfer because it was a duplicate.

Why are wire transfers high risk? ›

Sending money this way is like sending cash in that, once sent, the wire transfer typically cannot be reversed. Wired funds are considered the property of the recipient and wire transfers may be final. For this reason, wire transfers can be a preferred payment method for fraudsters.

Why is my wire transfer taking so long? ›

Occasionally, there are delays. If the bank sending the funds makes a mistake, a wire transfer may take longer than expected. Holidays can also disrupt wire transfers. Prepare for delays if you're receiving money from a slow-to-pay country such as Afghanistan or Cuba.

Is SWIFT a wire payment? ›

You may need to send money with SWIFT to family and friends abroad or to secure a vacation rental, pay tuition, or get other services or merchandise. In general, sending money with SWIFT is the same process as sending a wire transfer.

How do I know if my wire transfer was received? ›

Contact your bank or payment service provider: Reach out to your bank's customer service or visit the nearest branch (if they have any). Provide them with the transaction details and ask for assistance in tracking the wire transfer. They will have access to the necessary systems and information to help you.

Why does my bank transfer keep getting rejected? ›

Here are some of the reasons: Your receiver's details are incorrect (name, bank account number, phone number, card number etc.) The account is opened in a different currency. The bank account is closed/cannot accept payments.

Why does my bank keep declining my transfer? ›

Insufficient Funds: If you don't have enough funds in your bank account or Cash App balance to cover the transfer amount, the bank may decline the transaction. Suspicious Activity: Banks have security measures in place to protect their customers from fraudulent transactions.

Why would the bank reject payments? ›

Payments can either be automatically rejected (e.g. where an account has been closed) or returned following a manual review by the payee's bank (who may not be able to accept the payment). In both cases, the money will be sent back to your account immediately and will show as a contra entry on their statement.

Can banks block wire transfers? ›

The wire system rejects any outgoing and/or incoming wires that may be attempted based on the indicators you requested. There aren't additional steps needed after the indicator is placed – Wire Block will be activated to prevent fraudulent wires from posting to the account.

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