Wire Transfers.... Info to know

wire transfers are often the most expedient method for transferring funds between bank accounts. A bank wire transfer is effected as follows:

The entity wishing to do a transfer approaches a bank and gives the bank the order to transfer a certain amount of money. IBAN and BIC codes are given as well so the bank knows where the money needs to be sent.
The sending bank transmits a message, via a secure system (such as SWIFT or Fedwire), to the receiving bank, requesting that it effect payment according to the instructions given.
The message also includes settlement instructions. The actual transfer is not instantaneous: funds may take several hours or even days to move from the sender's account to the receiver's account.
Either the banks involved must hold a reciprocal account with each other, or the payment must be sent to a bank with such an account, a correspondent bank, for further benefit to the ultimate recipient.
Banks collect payment for the service from the sender as well as from the recipient. The sending bank typically collects a fee separate from the funds being transferred, while the receiving bank and intermediate banks through which the transfer travels deduct fees from the money being transferred so that the recipient receives less than what the sender sent.
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[As an example of the cost, Bank Of America as of February 2010 charged $25 to send a wire and $12 to receive one within the US. For international transfer, it charged $35–$45 outgoing, $16 incoming. However, fees may vary from bank to bank.

In the United States, domestic wire transfers are governed by Federal Regulation J[1] and by Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code.[

Bank-to-bank wire transfer is considered the safest international payment method.[by whom?] Each account holder must have a proven identity. Chargeback is unlikely, although wires can be recalled. Information contained in wires is transmitted securely through encrypted communications methods. The price of bank wire transfers varies greatly, depending on the bank and its location; in some countries, the fee associated with the service can be costly.

Wire transfers done through cash offices are essentially anonymous and are designed for transfer between persons who trust each other. It is unsafe to send money by wire to an unknown person to collect at a cash office: the receiver of the money may, after collecting it, simply disappear. This scam has been used often, especially in the so-called 419 scam.

International transfers involving the United States are subject to monitoring by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which monitors information provided in the text of the wire to ascertain whether money is being transferred to terrorist organizations or countries or entities under sanction by the United States government. If a financial institution suspects that funds are being sent from or to one of these entities, it must block the transfer and freeze the funds.[5] |IBAN wire transfers are not completely free of vulnerabilities. Every intermediate bank that handles a wire transaction can take a fee directly out of the wire payload (the assets being transferred) without the account holders knowledge or consent. There is no legislation or technical means to protect customers from this practice. If bank S is the sending bank (or brokerage), and bank R is the receiving bank (or brokerage), and bank I1, I2, and I3 are intermediary banks, the client may only have a contract with bank S and/or R, but banks I1, I2, and I3 can (and often do) take money from the wire without any direct arrangement with the client. Clients are sometimes taken by surprise when less money arrives at bank R. Contrast this with cheques, the amount transferred is guaranteed in full, and fees (if there are any) can be charged only at endpoint banks
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There are forms of electronic transfer that are distinct from wire transfer. Electronic Funds Transfer System (EFTS) is one such system. This is the system one uses when one gives one's bank account number and routing information to someone one owes money and that party transfers the money from one's account. It is also the system used in some payments made via a bank's online bill payment service. EFTS transfers differ from wire transfers in important legal ways. An EFTS payment is essentially an electronic personal check, whereas a wire transfer is more like an electronic cashier's check