Answer

How to wire money, step by step

Updated August 2026. Evergreen page — refreshed in place as facts change.

What do you need before you send a wire?

Wires fail or stall on missing details far more often than on anything else. Collect everything first:

• The recipient's full legal name, exactly as it appears on their account — banks screen for name mismatches.
• Their account number, and for domestic wires the receiving bank's wire routing number — note that many banks use a different routing number for wires than for ACH, so confirm it is the wire one.
• For international wires: the receiving bank's SWIFT/BIC code, and in much of the world an IBAN in place of a plain account number.
• The recipient's address, and sometimes the receiving bank's address — many sending banks require both.
• The purpose of the payment — a routine compliance question; a plain, accurate answer keeps the wire moving.

How do you send a wire transfer, step by step?

The flow is the same in an app, on the web, or at a counter:

• Open your bank's wire or external-transfer section (or bring ID to a branch for larger amounts).
• Enter the recipient's details and the amount, and select domestic or international.
• Review the fee, and on international wires the exchange rate and who pays intermediary charges.
• Verify every digit of the account and routing numbers against details you confirmed through a trusted channel — a wire is final once processed.
• Submit before the cutoff and save the confirmation. Domestic wires carry an IMAD reference, international ones a UETR — either lets a bank trace the payment definitively.

Should you wire online or in a branch?

Online is cheaper and faster to initiate: many banks discount online-initiated wires in 2026, and there is no line. Branches earn their keep for amounts above your online limit — banks commonly cap consumer online wires somewhere between $10,000 and $100,000 per day — and for first-time wires where you want a banker double-checking the details.

Either way, the money moves over the same network at the same speed once released. Paying the branch premium does not buy a faster wire; submitting earlier in the day does.

What time do you need to send it by?

Banks set wire cutoffs commonly between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern for domestic consumer wires, with international cutoffs usually earlier; the Fedwire operating day itself closes at 7 p.m. ET. Miss the cutoff and the wire processes the next business day — the single most common reason a same-day wire lands tomorrow.

Submit in the morning when timing matters. It leaves room for a verification callback or a compliance question without losing the day, and wires do not move on weekends or US federal holidays regardless.

How much does it cost to wire money?

Domestic outgoing wires typically cost $25–$35 at major US banks in 2026, with many online banks charging $0–$25. International wires run $35–$50 before currency conversion and intermediary deductions, which routinely add more than the flat fee. Our full breakdown of wire transfer fees covers the hidden costs and the ways to cut them.

How do you wire money safely?

From our own compliance desk, the failures we actually see are almost never network problems — they are verification problems. The wire system did its job; the details were wrong or the request was fraudulent.

• Confirm payment instructions by calling a number you already trust — never one supplied in the email that asked for the money. 'Updated' account details at the last minute are the classic business-email-compromise move.
• Send a small test wire first when the recipient and rail are new, then the balance once it lands.
• Be suspicious of urgency and secrecy — both are pressure tactics, not payment requirements.
• Match the account name to the invoice. Paying a company invoice into a personal account deserves a hard stop.