Wire transfer fees are something that usually can’t be avoided, unless you work at a bank and have an employee discount! Wire transfers are a convenient way of paying for things or sending money to other people. With the increase in internet shopping and buying things from stores outside your local area, it means you are sending money to other people more often. Checks or cheques are a slow way and means the shipping of your goods may be delayed for about a week by the time it is posted, received, banked and the funds cleared into the bank account. Bank wire transfers are a much faster way of getting money from one bank account to another, be it in the same country or overseas.
With this convenient and speed comes the fees and charges. Wire transfer fees can add up if you aren’t smart about how you do them. Before requesting a wire transfer, ask what the fees will be and then think whether you really need to do a wire transfer. Maybe one of the online money transfer services will be cheaper? You bank will ask for the details of your account in order to withdraw the money and also the recipient’s account details. If it is a domestic wire transfer then it’s really only the bank account number, name, bank and branch that might be required. Thanks to money launderers and organized criminals, the details for international wire transfers is more onerous. In addition to all the above details, you will probably need their full name, address and contact details. To avoid problems, trying and get as much information from the other party as possible as this avoids having to go back to them with requests for more details.
The fees may also depend on the currencies involved and the amounts. There’s really not a lot more work depending on the amount, however, some places charge for wire transfers based on the amount. Perhaps the larger transfers are subsidizing the smaller ones. More likely it is based on ability to pay and if you are transferring a large amount then you can probably afford a larger fee!