To send money from Europe to the United States, you’ll need the recipient’s SWIFT/BIC code, their bank’s nine-digit ABA routing number, the account number, and the recipient’s full legal name and address. From there you choose a channel — a traditional bank wire over the SWIFT network, a fintech transfer provider, or a cash pickup service — and confirm who pays the fees along the way. Most transfers land within hours when the details are correct, though U.S. compliance screening and intermediary banks can stretch that.
Details to Collect Before You Start
Four pieces of information make the transfer possible. Missing or wrong entries send the money back or park it in a reconciliation queue.
The SWIFT/BIC code identifies the recipient’s bank internationally. It runs eight characters, sometimes eleven with a branch suffix, under the ISO 9362 standard.1Swift. Business Identifier Code (BIC) The ABA routing number is the nine-digit code that identifies the specific U.S. bank or credit union.2American Bankers Association. ABA Routing Number You also need the recipient’s account number and their full legal name and physical address. American recipients can usually find the routing and account numbers on their checks or in the account details section of their mobile banking app.
One point trips up European senders every time: U.S. banks do not use IBANs. You cannot substitute an IBAN for a routing number and account number. Your European bank will still use your own IBAN to debit your side of the transfer, but the destination fields need the American identifiers, entered separately.
Ways to Send the Money
Bank Wire Over SWIFT
The traditional route sends a payment order through the SWIFT messaging network. Your European bank instructs the recipient’s American bank to credit the account, sometimes routing through one or more intermediary banks. Each intermediary can deduct a fee from the amount before passing it on, depending on which fee arrangement you select.
Digital Transfer Providers
Fintech companies take euros into a European account and pay out dollars from a separate American account. Many transactions never touch the SWIFT network, which usually means lower fees and tighter exchange-rate spreads. The limits on any single transfer tend to be lower than what a bank wire allows, so very large sums may still need to go through a bank.
Cash Pickup
Some providers let you pay in euros at a physical location while the recipient collects dollars in cash at an authorized U.S. agent. This works when the recipient has no bank account, but fees are higher and the exchange rate less favorable than electronic options.
What the Transfer Actually Costs
Cost lives in several places, and adding them up matters more than the headline fee.
The Sending Fee
European banks charge an outgoing wire fee for any transfer to the U.S., since it falls outside SEPA. Amounts vary by bank and by whether you submit online or at a branch, with online submission generally much cheaper.
The Exchange-Rate Markup
This is the hidden layer. Banks rarely convert at the mid-market rate you see on Google or financial news sites. They add a spread between their quoted rate and the interbank rate. Traditional banks tend to mark up roughly 2% to 5%; fintech providers and specialist currency brokers often stay under 1%. On a €10,000 transfer, a one-percentage-point difference is about $100 less arriving on the other side. Compare the total amount the recipient will actually receive, not the fee alone.
Who Pays the Fees Along the Way
SWIFT transfers require you to pick a fee instruction code:
- OUR means you pay all fees, including intermediary bank charges, and the full stated amount should reach the recipient.
- SHA (shared) means you pay your bank’s outgoing fee and the recipient pays the receiving bank’s fee; intermediary banks can still deduct charges, so the recipient may get less than expected.
- BEN means the recipient pays every fee along the route, and each deduction comes out of the transfer itself.
When the recipient must receive an exact dollar figure, such as for a real estate closing, OUR is the safer choice. It costs you more but removes surprises at the other end.
The Receiving Fee
Most U.S. banks charge the recipient a fee for incoming international wires, typically between $0 and $25. Some banks waive it for premium or high-balance customers. Under SHA, this fee stacks on top of the intermediary deductions.
Why a Transfer Might Be Delayed
American anti-money-laundering rules create checkpoints that every incoming wire must clear. When a transfer that should arrive in minutes takes days, one of the following is usually why.
Bank Secrecy Act Recordkeeping
Under the Bank Secrecy Act, U.S. banks must create and retain records for every incoming wire of $3,000 or more, including the sender’s name and address, the amount, the execution date, and the identity of the originating bank.3eCFR. 31 CFR 1020.410 – Records To Be Made and Retained by Banks This is a duty on the bank, not something the sender or recipient files. Incomplete sender details, though, are a common reason a wire gets held.
A widespread misconception is that wire transfers over $10,000 automatically get reported to the government. The $10,000 threshold applies to Currency Transaction Reports, which cover cash deposits, withdrawals, and physical currency exchanges — not electronic wires.4FFIEC. Assessing Compliance with BSA Regulatory Requirements Banks can still file Suspicious Activity Reports on wires of any size when something looks unusual, so breaking a large transfer into smaller pieces is a bad idea; that itself is a federal offense.
OFAC Sanctions Screening
Every incoming international wire is screened against the Treasury Department’s sanctions lists, maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. If the sender’s name, the originating bank, or another party in the chain matches or resembles a name on the Specially Designated Nationals list, the bank must block the funds and report the block to OFAC within 10 business days.5U.S. Department of the Treasury. Blocking and Rejecting Transactions Blocked funds sit in an interest-bearing account and can only be released with OFAC authorization. Even a partial name match can trigger a manual review that adds a few days.
Know Your Customer Documentation
For large or unusual incoming wires, the recipient’s bank may request additional documentation before releasing funds — government ID, proof of source of funds, or an explanation of the relationship between sender and recipient. First-time large transfers to an account that normally sees modest activity are the most likely to be flagged. Having something ready, such as a purchase contract, gift letter, or invoice, shortens the hold.
Tax Reporting on the U.S. Side
Receiving an international wire is not itself a taxable event. It can still create reporting obligations, and the penalties for missing them are steep.
Form 3520 for Large Foreign Gifts
A U.S. person who receives gifts or bequests from a foreign individual or estate totaling more than $100,000 in a single tax year must report the amounts on Form 3520.6Internal Revenue Service. Gifts from Foreign Person Each individual gift over $5,000 within that total must be separately identified. The form is due April 15 following the tax year, or October 15 with an extension.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 3520
This is a reporting requirement, not a tax. The U.S. does not tax the recipient on foreign gifts. Missing the filing deadline, though, triggers a penalty of 5% of the unreported gift amount for each month the form is late, up to a maximum of 25%.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 3520 On a $200,000 gift from a European relative, that’s $10,000 per month in penalties for a paperwork failure.
A Note for U.S. Citizens Sending From Europe
If you’re the sender and a U.S. citizen or resident living in Europe, you likely have a separate obligation unrelated to the wire itself. Any U.S. person with a financial interest in or signature authority over foreign financial accounts must file FinCEN Form 114 (the FBAR) when the aggregate value of those accounts exceeds $10,000 at any point during the calendar year.8Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) This tracks account balances, not transfers, so an expat with €15,000 in a European checking account must file even if they never send a cent home.9Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Report Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts
Submitting the Transfer and Tracking It
In a digital portal, you’ll enter the SWIFT/BIC code, routing number, account number, recipient name and address, the amount, and your fee instruction. At a branch, you’ll fill out a wire transfer request form with the same information and sign it. Check the quoted exchange rate one more time before confirming, because once authorized the transaction is difficult to reverse.
The provider then generates a tracking reference, usually called a Transaction Reference Number for bank wires or a Money Transfer Control Number for cash pickup. SWIFT reports that 90% of payments over its network reach the destination bank within an hour, though intermediary routing, compliance reviews, or weekend timing can push that out.10Swift. How Long Do Swift Transfers Take Most banks and providers send an automated notification once the recipient’s account has been credited.