Bank wiring instructions are the account and routing details a sender needs to move money electronically into a specific account. For a domestic wire inside the United States, that means the recipient’s full legal name, their address, their account number, and the receiving bank’s name and wire routing number. International wires add a SWIFT/BIC code and often an IBAN. Every digit has to be right, because once a wire clears, getting the money back is difficult and sometimes impossible.
What You Need to Send a Domestic Wire
Five pieces of information cover almost every domestic wire:
- The recipient’s full legal name, exactly as it appears on their account. Nicknames and abbreviations can trigger a rejection.
- The recipient’s physical address on file with their bank. Federal recordkeeping rules require this for any wire of $3,000 or more.1eCFR. 31 CFR 1020.410
- The receiving bank’s name and address.
- The bank’s ABA routing number for wires. This is a nine-digit code identifying the bank, and it is not always the number printed on a checkbook.
- The recipient’s account number at that bank.
Banks collect this data partly because of the Bank Secrecy Act’s Travel Rule, which requires them to create and keep records for wires of $3,000 or more and to pass the sender’s name, address, and account number along with the payment.2FFIEC BSA/AML InfoBase. FFIEC BSA/AML Assessing Compliance With BSA Regulatory Requirements – Funds Transfers Recordkeeping If any identifying detail is incomplete, the receiving bank may hold the funds in a suspense account or return them.
Verify every digit against something official from the recipient’s bank, not an email or text. Once the wire clears, responsibility for what you provided sits with you.
What to Give a Sender When You Are Receiving a Wire
If someone is wiring money to you, your bank can provide an incoming wire instructions sheet. You will need to pass along:
- Your full legal name as it appears on your account
- Your account number
- Your bank’s wire routing number (ask for that one specifically)
- Your bank’s name and address
Most banks publish incoming wire instructions in the online banking portal. For an international wire coming to you, the sender will also need your bank’s SWIFT code, and possibly an IBAN depending on the country the money is leaving from.
The Wire Routing Number Is Not Always the Number on Your Checks
This is where people lose time. Many banks use one nine-digit routing number for ACH transactions like direct deposits and automatic payments, and a different one for wire transfers. The number printed at the bottom of a check is almost always the ACH number. Handing that to a sender for a wire can cause the transfer to be rejected or misrouted.
Always ask your bank for the routing number labeled for wire transfers. Online banking portals often list both under a “wire instructions” tab. Using the wrong one will not typically cause a permanent loss, but it will delay the transfer.
What International Wires Additionally Require
Cross-border wires travel through global networks, and the instructions have to reflect that. On top of the recipient’s name, address, and account number, you will need:
- A SWIFT/BIC code, the eight- or eleven-character code that identifies a specific bank worldwide. The core eight characters cover the institution, country, and location; an optional three-character extension identifies a branch.3Swift. Business Identifier Code (BIC)
- An IBAN, the International Bank Account Number used in most countries outside the United States. It packages the country code, bank identifier, and account number into a single string of up to 34 characters. Not every country uses IBANs, so confirm with the recipient.4Swift. International Bank Account Number
- Correspondent or intermediary bank details when your bank and the recipient’s bank do not have a direct relationship. The recipient’s bank will say whether these are needed and which bank to route through. Omitting them when required can bounce the wire or produce unexpected deductions along the way.
Ask the recipient to pull the full international wire instructions directly from their bank. A missing SWIFT code or an incorrect IBAN can stall a payment for days.
Fees and the Currency Markup Most People Miss
Wires are not free. At major U.S. banks, domestic outgoing wires generally run $25 to $40, and international outgoing wires run $35 to $50. Some banks waive fees for premium account holders. The receiving bank may also charge an incoming wire fee, commonly $10 to $20 for domestic wires.
International wires carry a cost that does not appear on any fee schedule: the currency exchange markup. Banks convert dollars at a rate that includes a margin above the mid-market rate, often 2% to 4% of the transfer amount. On a $10,000 transfer, that can quietly add $200 to $400 in spread, on top of the flat wire fee and any correspondent bank charges. For larger transfers, comparing your bank’s exchange rate against the mid-market rate before sending can meaningfully reduce the total cost.
How to Submit a Wire
Most banks let you initiate a wire three ways: through online banking, over the phone with a representative, or in person at a branch. Each route requires identity verification. Online submissions usually rely on multi-factor authentication codes. Phone and in-person requests use a government-issued ID or security questions tied to your account.
After you submit, you will receive a confirmation with a reference number. Keep it. If anything goes wrong, that number is the fastest way to locate the wire in the system.
Timing, Cutoffs, and Holidays
Domestic wires submitted before your bank’s daily cutoff generally settle the same business day. Cutoffs vary by bank but typically fall between 4:00 and 5:00 PM Eastern Time. Fedwire itself accepts customer transfers until 6:45 PM ET, but individual banks close their wire desks well before that.5Federal Reserve Financial Services. Wholesale Services Operating Hours and FedPayments Miss the cutoff and the wire queues for the next business day.
Fedwire does not run on federal holidays. In 2026 there will be no wire processing on New Year’s Day (January 1), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 19), Presidents’ Day (February 16), Memorial Day (May 25), Juneteenth (June 19), Independence Day observed (July 3), Labor Day (September 7), Columbus Day (October 12), Veterans Day (November 11), Thanksgiving (November 26), or Christmas (December 25). For a time-sensitive wire, count backward from the deadline and leave a cushion for weekends and holidays.
International wires take longer. The traditional expectation is two to five business days, though the SWIFT network’s tracking system now credits nearly 60% of international payments to the recipient within 30 minutes and almost all within 24 hours.6Swift. Swift GPI Actual speed depends on how many correspondent banks sit in the chain, the destination country’s banking hours, and whether compliance review flags anything.
Canceling a Wire: Domestic and International Are Different
International remittance transfers come with a federal cancellation right. If you contact your bank within 30 minutes of paying, and the transfer has not yet been picked up by the recipient, the bank must refund the full amount including fees and taxes.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Comment for 1005.34 – Procedures for Cancellation and Refund of Remittance Transfers Some providers offer a longer window.
Domestic wires do not have that protection. No federal rule gives you an automatic right to cancel. Once the receiving bank accepts the funds, your only option is to ask your bank to send a recall request, which the receiving bank is not required to honor. Recovery usually depends on whether the recipient agrees to return the money. Banks will generally reverse a domestic wire only when the bank made an error in the account number, the amount was wrong, or the transfer was a duplicate. If you sent money to the correct account but the wrong person because your instructions were bad, recovery is unlikely.8Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I Sent Money to Someone and They Couldn’t Get the Money Because the Information Didn’t Match What I Provided – What Can I Do
That is why verifying wire instructions before you send matters more than almost any other check in banking. There is no chargeback, no dispute window, and no obligation on the bank to make you whole when the instructions you provided were followed exactly.
How to Avoid Wire Fraud
Wire fraud aimed at real estate closings and business payments is one of the most costly cybercrime categories in the country. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reported $2.77 billion in losses from business email compromise schemes in 2024.9FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. 2025 IC3 Annual Report Real estate transactions attract these schemes because they involve large sums, tight deadlines, and multiple parties trading wiring details over email.
The pattern is consistent. A fraudster compromises or spoofs the email account of a title company, real estate agent, or attorney, then sends the buyer “updated” wiring instructions shortly before closing. The money goes to an account the scammer controls, and by the time anyone notices, it is gone.
A few habits stop most of these attacks:
- Verify by phone before every wire. Call the recipient using a number you already had on file or one you looked up yourself. Never call a number that came in the same email as the wire instructions.
- Treat last-minute changes as a red flag. Legitimate instructions rarely change close to a deadline. If they do, confirm directly by phone before sending.
- Push back on pressure and secrecy. Requests to wire “immediately” or to keep instructions confidential are manipulation tactics. A real title company will not object to a verification call.
- Inspect the sender’s email address character by character. Scammers register domains that swap one letter or add a hyphen. Compare against previous legitimate messages.
- When you call to verify, ask for someone other than the person named in the email. If that account is compromised, the named person may not yet know.
If you suspect you already sent money to a fraudulent account, contact your bank immediately and ask them to initiate a recall, then file a complaint at ic3.gov. Speed matters. The FBI’s Recovery Asset Team can sometimes freeze fraudulent accounts before the money moves further, but that window closes fast.
What Legal Protections Do and Don’t Cover
Regulation E, the federal rule that governs most electronic payments like debit card transactions and ACH transfers, explicitly excludes wire transfers sent through Fedwire or similar systems.10eCFR. 12 CFR 1005.3 The dispute resolution and error correction procedures you might rely on for a botched debit card charge do not apply to domestic wires.
Domestic wires are governed instead by Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code, which most states have adopted. Article 4A places primary responsibility on the sender to provide correct instructions. If you authorize a wire with accurate details and the bank executes it properly, the bank has met its obligation, even if you were tricked into sending the money.
International wires get better treatment. The CFPB’s Remittance Transfer Rule requires banks and money transfer providers to give you a written disclosure before you pay, showing the transfer amount, all fees, the exchange rate, and the total the recipient will receive.11eCFR. 12 CFR 1005.31 You also get the 30-minute cancellation right and access to an error resolution process.
One boundary worth knowing: wire transfers do not count as “cash” for IRS Form 8300 purposes, so receiving a large wire does not trigger the $10,000 cash-reporting requirement that applies to physical currency.12Internal Revenue Service. Report of Cash Payments Over 10000 Received in a Trade or Business Motor Vehicle Dealership QAs Banks can still file suspicious activity reports on any wire they find unusual, regardless of the amount.