A Wire Transfer, also known as an 'Electronic Fund Transfer' or 'International Money Transfer', is a payment made electronically from a sending bank on behalf of its customer to a beneficiary at a receiving bank.
The benefits of using a Wire Transfer are speed and security:
- Speed - Instruct us by 11:15 a.m. local time and your payment can be delivered to the beneficiary's bank the same business day (for payments in US Dollars), the next business day (for payments in Canadian Dollars, Euros, Sterling, Japanese yen and Swiss francs), or within two business days (for other currencies).
- Security - Wire Transfers are issued using highly sophisticated and secure payment systems to ensure safe and confidential transportation of payment information.
Transfers can take place in all major currencies and in most exotic currencies. Please refer to our fee schedule for our wire transfer charges.
What you need to provide
In order for us to issue a Wire Transfer payment on your behalf, we will need you to provide us with:
- Details of the bank where the beneficiary's account is held, e.g. the name and address of the bank.
- A routing code for the bank (this could be its Sort Code, ABA number or SWIFT code). If you will be sending non-local currency to a country (e.g. USD to the UK), you will also need to provide us with the name and routing details of the relevant "Correspondent Bank" for the beneficiary's bank.
- The name of the ordering customer.
- The amount and currency to be sent.
- The name and account number of the beneficiary.
- Finally, the account number at Butterfield which we should charge for the transfer.
How to send a Wire Transfer
Wire Transfer instruction forms are available at any of our Banking Centres or click here to download. If you've signed up for service through Butterfield Online, you can also issue instructions through our internet banking.
Receiving Wire Transfer Payments
If you will be receiving funds via wire transfer into your Butterfield account, you will need to provide the remitter with our Correspondent Bank routing details for the currency being received. Learn more.
