How to receive a wire transfer: details, fees and timing

Short answer

To receive a wire transfer, give the sender your name and address as they appear on your statement, your full account number, your bank’s wire routing number and the bank’s name and address. For a wire from abroad, give your bank’s SWIFT code instead of the routing number. A domestic wire sent before the sender’s cutoff moves through Fedwire the same business day, and your bank must make it available no later than the next business day.

At a glance

• Domestic wireYour name and address, account number, the bank’s wire routing number (ABA), bank name and address
• International wireThe same, with the bank’s SWIFT/BIC code in place of the routing number
• Fedwire hours9:00 PM ET the evening before to 7:00 PM ET, business days only
• Funds availabilityNo later than the business day after the bank receives the wire (Regulation CC)
• Incoming feeSet by your bank; $0 to $15 at the three banks below

Sources: Federal Reserve Financial Services: Fedwire operating hours · 12 CFR 229.10: Next-day availability · Checked on October 11, 2026

The details to give the sender

Wells Fargo’s wire FAQ is a good template, because it lists every field a sender’s bank asks for:

1. Routing number for wires. For a domestic wire, the bank’s wire routing transit number (ABA). Take it from the bank’s wire instructions, not from a check: Wells Fargo’s routing number page gives one number for wires, 121000248, and asks for the state where you opened the account for other uses.
2. SWIFT/BIC code. For a wire from outside the United States. Wells Fargo notes that a routing number is not needed for an international wire.
3. Bank name and address. Wells Fargo tells customers to give its San Francisco head office address wherever their account was opened.
4. Your account number. The complete number, including leading zeros.
5. Your name and address. Exactly as they appear on your account statement.

Your own bank publishes these details on its wire page or in online banking. Our bank list links each bank’s wire page where we found one, and the Navy Federal wire transfer, USAA wire transfer, Capital One wire transfer and Wells Fargo wire transfer routing number pages each have a section on receiving.

Warning

Send your wire details only to someone you know and over a channel you started. If anyone emails you “updated” instructions for a wire you are expecting or sending, confirm them by calling a number you already had: a wire that reaches the wrong account is very hard to get back.

What it costs to receive a wire

The sender pays the sending fee. Your bank may charge its own fee to receive, and banks in the payment chain can take charges out of the amount: Chase’s fee schedule says financial institutions may deduct processing fees and charges from incoming and outgoing wires, and Bank of America’s says other fees may apply to international wires.

Sources: Chase Additional Banking Services and Fees, effective June 14, 2026 · Bank of America Personal Schedule of Fees · Wells Fargo: Digital Wires FAQs · Checked on October 11, 2026

Bank of America waives the domestic incoming fee on Advantage Relationship Banking, Advantage with Tiered Interest and Advantage Regular Checking, and both incoming fees for BofA Rewards members in the Preferred Plus tier and above. Wells Fargo charges $15 to receive only on analyzed business accounts.

How long it takes to arrive

Timeline

1. Business day, before the sender’s bank cutoffthe sender’s bank releases the wire. Cutoffs differ by bank; see wire transfer cutoff time.
2. Fedwire open, 9:00 PM ET the evening before to 7:00 PM ETthe Federal Reserve moves a domestic wire between the two banks. Fedwire’s last call for customer transfers is 6:45 PM ET.
3. On receiptyour bank credits the account once it matches the name and account number on the wire.
4. Next business day at the latestRegulation CC requires your bank to make funds from an electronic payment available no later than the business day after the banking day it received the payment.

Weekends and Federal Reserve holidays do not count as business days, so a wire sent on Friday evening, or on a holiday such as Columbus Day on October 12, 2026, waits for the next business day. The full list is in federal reserve holidays 2026.

International wires take longer because they can pass through one or more intermediary banks before reaching yours. How long do wire transfers take covers both cases.

Receiving a wire in a foreign currency

If the sender wires euros, pesos or another currency to a US dollar account, your bank converts the money at its own exchange rate. Wells Fargo’s incoming wire instructions say a wire received in a foreign currency is converted into US dollars “without prior notice,” at a rate set by Wells Fargo that includes a markup. Chase says its rate for wires received in a foreign currency includes a spread. If you want to know the dollar amount in advance, ask the sender to wire US dollars, or ask your bank for its rate before the wire is sent.

For a wire in US dollars, Wells Fargo says intermediary bank details are not required. For a foreign currency wire, it gives the sender a list of intermediary banks to use.

If the wire has not arrived

Ask the sender for the date it was sent, the amount and the reference their bank gave them: the Fedwire reference (IMAD/OMAD) for a domestic wire or the UETR for an international one. Your bank can search with those, and a wrong account number or a name that does not match is the first thing to rule out. Check the deposit in your bank’s app, not in an email or a screenshot from the sender. The steps for a trace or a recall are in wire transfer not received.

Senders have little time to change their minds: Chase, for example, does not let customers cancel a same-day domestic wire and allows 30 minutes to cancel an international one. If someone says they wired you too much and asks for the difference back, check the deposit with your bank before you send anything.