On an international wire, the OUR, SHA, and BEN charge codes tell every bank in the chain who pays the fees. OUR means you, the sender, pay all of them. SHA means you pay your own bank’s fee and the recipient absorbs any charges intermediary and receiving banks take out of the transfer. BEN means every fee comes out of the money you sent, so the recipient receives what’s left. Pick OUR when the recipient has to receive an exact amount, SHA for most ordinary transfers, and BEN only when the recipient has agreed to cover everything.
What Each Code Actually Does
International payments usually pass through at least one intermediary (correspondent) bank between your bank and the recipient’s. Each bank in that chain charges for its role. The code you choose is a standardized instruction, carried in the payment message, telling those banks where to take their fees from.1Bank of New Zealand. Message Reference Guide – MT 103 Single Customer Credit Transfer
OUR — You Pay Everything
With OUR, you cover your bank’s outgoing wire fee plus any charges from intermediary and receiving banks. The point is that the recipient gets the exact amount you sent, with nothing deducted along the way.1Bank of New Zealand. Message Reference Guide – MT 103 Single Customer Credit Transfer
Your bank collects its own outgoing fee at the time of the transfer and typically adds a separate “correspondent bank fee” of about $15 to $30 to cover anticipated intermediary charges. OUR is the standard choice when you owe a precise amount: invoices, legal settlements, cross-border payroll, and loan repayments all call for it because a shortfall creates a contractual problem.
SHA — Costs Are Split
SHA is the middle path and the default on most banking platforms. You pay your own bank’s outgoing wire fee out of pocket, and any charges from intermediary or receiving banks are deducted from the transfer amount before it reaches the recipient.1Bank of New Zealand. Message Reference Guide – MT 103 Single Customer Credit Transfer Send $5,000 and you pay your bank’s wire fee separately; the recipient gets $5,000 minus whatever intermediaries took, usually $10 to $30 depending on the corridor and the number of banks involved.
If you don’t actively pick a code, your bank almost certainly applies SHA. It works well for personal transfers, informal business payments, and anywhere both parties understand the recipient will absorb some transit costs.
BEN — The Recipient Pays Everything
Under BEN, every fee in the chain is deducted from the transfer amount: your bank’s outgoing charge, intermediary fees, and the receiving bank’s fee all come out of the principal before it lands.1Bank of New Zealand. Message Reference Guide – MT 103 Single Customer Credit Transfer Nothing comes out of your account directly, but the recipient receives noticeably less than you sent — total deductions on a $5,000 transfer can reach $50 to $100 or more.
BEN only makes sense when the recipient has explicitly agreed to absorb all costs. Many banks and corridors restrict or prohibit it. If BEN isn’t available when you initiate a transfer, the bank will typically fall back to SHA.
OUR Doesn’t Always Mean the Full Amount Arrives
This is where senders get burned. Intermediary banks in some corridors may still deduct fees from the transfer despite an OUR instruction, particularly when they have no direct relationship with the sending bank. The payment message includes transparency fields where each bank in the chain records any charges it took, which creates a paper trail but doesn’t prevent the deduction.1Bank of New Zealand. Message Reference Guide – MT 103 Single Customer Credit Transfer
If full delivery matters, ask your bank whether they offer a “full value” or “guaranteed OUR” product. Some banks will agree to an all-in price upfront and reimburse any intermediary deductions so the recipient gets the exact amount.2J.P. Morgan. Four Ways to Expand the Value of Wire Payments in Managing Treasury You’ll pay more for the guarantee, but it eliminates the risk of an underpayment dispute.
SEPA Euro Transfers: The Choice Doesn’t Exist
If you’re sending euros within the Single Euro Payments Area, SHA isn’t just the default — it’s required. The SEPA Credit Transfer Scheme mandates that senders and recipients each pay only their own bank’s fees, with no charges deducted from the transfer amount by intermediaries.3European Payments Council. SEPA Credit Transfer Scheme Rulebook 2025 The full amount arrives and each party’s bank bills them separately. OUR and BEN are not available options for SEPA transfers.
The Fee the Code Doesn’t Touch: Exchange Rate Markups
The charge code only governs explicit banking fees. If your transfer involves a currency conversion, there’s a second cost layer no code controls. Your bank buys the foreign currency at the interbank (mid-market) rate and sells it to you at a higher rate. That spread commonly runs a few percent of the transfer amount, varying by bank, currency pair, and transfer size.
On a $10,000 transfer, even a 2% markup costs $200, likely more than all the explicit wire fees combined. The markup applies regardless of whether you choose OUR, SHA, or BEN, and it’s easy to overlook because it’s baked into the conversion rate rather than listed as a line item. Before confirming any transfer involving a currency change, compare the rate your bank offers against the mid-market rate on a financial data site. The gap is the real cost of conversion.
Where You’ll See the Option and How to Choose
When you initiate a wire through online banking or a paper form, the charge code appears under a label like “Fee Allocation,” “Charge Bearer,” or “Payment Instructions.” It’s usually a dropdown or a set of radio buttons.
- Choose OUR when the recipient must receive an exact amount: invoices, legal settlements, payroll, loan repayments.
- Choose SHA for most other transfers, and expect it as the default. It’s the only option for SEPA euro transfers.
- Choose BEN only when the recipient has agreed to absorb all costs. It’s often restricted and the deductions are unpredictable.
Once you submit the transfer and the payment message is generated, the charge code generally cannot be changed. Review your selection on the confirmation screen before you approve. If your bank restricts a code for a particular destination or currency, ask whether an alternative product can achieve what you need.
Your Federal Protections Before and After Sending
U.S. federal law gives you specific rights on international transfers. The Remittance Transfer Rule, part of Regulation E, covers most banks and money transfer services that handle more than 500 international transfers per year.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Remittance Transfers Small Entity Compliance Guide It applies to electronic transfers of more than $15 sent to recipients outside the United States.5eCFR. 12 CFR 1005.30
Disclosures Before You Pay
Before you pay, the provider must show you the exact fees, the exchange rate, and the total amount the recipient will receive in the recipient’s currency.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR Part 1005 – 1005.31 Disclosures The provider cannot describe the exchange rate as “unknown,” “floating,” or “to be determined.”7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Comment for 1005.31 – Disclosures The disclosure must also include a statement that additional third-party fees or taxes not covered by the provider may reduce the amount received. These disclosures must be clear, in at least eight-point font, and in a form you can keep.
This is your best tool for comparing providers. Two banks might charge similar wire fees but offer exchange rates that differ by 2%, making one dramatically more expensive. The law forces both to show you the math before you commit.
The 30-Minute Cancellation Window
You can cancel an international transfer at no cost if you contact your provider within 30 minutes of paying, as long as the recipient hasn’t already picked up or received the funds.8Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR Part 1005 – 1005.34 Procedures for Cancellation and Refund of Remittance Transfers The provider must refund the full amount, including all fees and taxes, within three business days. Some providers offer a longer window, but 30 minutes is the federal floor, and the clock starts when you submit the transfer regardless of the provider’s business hours.