Successfully Making International Wire Payments

Firms can often have difficulties making international wires to their foreign suppliers work properly. The wiring instructions provided to banks must be exact for these wires to work correctly.

Inaccurate or incomplete wiring instructions can be very frustrating for accounting and treasury personnel who can waste a lot of time emailing questions and waiting for answers. Wires get returned unsuccessfully by the banks at a charge of $30 each time. Vendors become unhappy and often refuse to provide further products or services. It is important to revent the rejection of international wires up front because banks can take up to two weeks to research what has happened to a lost wire. Meanwhile, confusion reigns as to whether to send a replacement wire.

Handwritten wiring instructions should not be accepted. It is too easy to make errors. Non-Western language handwriting can be quite different from European or American. Even Western country handwriting varies by country. For example, the Western European "1" looks like an American "7". Firms must really must insist on typed instructions in the following manner:

Corresponding US Bank Name
US Bank Routing # (nine digit #)
Name, address, telephone # if available
Foreign Bank
Name, address, telephone # if available
account #
Final Beneficiary
Any other information as available.

The SWIFT code of the beneficiary bank should also be presented, when known. In addition, some Asian counties such as Kazakhstan require additional local bank codes on wires.

Firms need to recheck the bank routing numbers provided them versus their own copy of the ACH Participant Directory of routing numbers as an additional check.

Occasionally, wires can be rejected because one bank has closed its corresponding bank relationship with the other bank. The correct correspondent bank account number can usually be confirmed by calling up the wire department at the intermediary bank in New York or wherever it is located.

Even if all the information provided is correct, banks themselves can make mistakes and the wires do not go through. For example, banks can send wires to the wrong branch. Wires can sit in limbo indefinitely. Consequently, it is important to Email the supplier at the time of the wire to let them know the wire is underway, so they can look for it to be credited to their bank account. If the wire does not arrive promptly, they can investigate it.

Generally, firms are much better off with a little extra effort in the beginning to make sure all the data on the wires is 100% correct before the wires are sent. This includes the exact spelling of the name of the beneficiary and the exact account number. Attention needs to be paid as to whether the wire is being sent to a US dollar bank account or a local currency bank account. US dollar wires can be rejected, for example, if they are sent to a local currency bank account.

Zero Defect wiring procedures help to streamline a firm's international wiring processing, reducing costs and improving the customer/vendor relationship.

 

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