If you need to send money to somebody else, there are only a few ways you can do this. You can give them cash, but if its a large amount of if they are not close by, this is not going to be a feasible option.
You can mail them a cheque, but this can take some time to reach them due to postal service, and then it also takes some time for them to cash the cheque. The same applies to a certified cheque or a bank draft.
A wire transfer is typically guaranteed funds and is cleared immediately. This is why it is preferred because there is no hold on the funds, it is fast, typically 1-3 days depending on where you are sending it, and it is easy to do once you learn how to do it.
Here are the steps on how to send a wire transfer
1. Know the currency you are going to send money in. This is important because you want to make sure your bank, from which you are sending the wire transfer, can send money in that currency. Typically, the major currencies, such as Canadian and US dollars, is something that will be available.
2. Know the banking information of the receiving party. To send a wire transfer, the bank will ask you for a bunch of information so they can send the wire successfully.
The details that the bank requires are the following:
Beneficiary Bank: The bank is where the receiver has their bank account. This is the final destination bank. This can be obtained by asking the recipient who they bank with.
Intermediary Bank: Sometimes, the final receiving bank cannot receive the wire transfer directly, especially if it is an international wire or a wire of a different currency. Therefore, the final receiving bank will accept the funds from an intermediary bank. This information can be obtained from the final recipient, they can call their bank and ask them that if they are receiving a wire transfer, do they need to provide intermediary banking information. There is not always an intermediary bank involved.
ABA or Routing Number: If sending money to the USA or through a US bank, the US banks can be identified from a long set of numbers called a routing or ABA number. This number will identify the bank. Remember, this is not an account number. It is a bank identifier. In Canada, instead of an ABA or routing number, the Canadian system uses a branch transit number, this helps identify the bank branch.
Account Number: This is the account number of the recipient This helps the receiving bank identify the bank account of the recipient This can be obtained by the final recipient This information is also on a cheque as well.
IBAN: If sending money in Europe, they will often ask for an IBAN number, this long stream of numbers will include the account number and also the bank identifier.
Beneficiary Name and Address: This is the name and address of the final recipient
The wire transfer steps are a starting point. You can also call your own bank and ask them how to send a wire transfer and they will probably help you step by step. To confirm all the details, you can also get the recipient to ask their bank on all the instructions needed to provide the sender if they want to receive a wire transfer. This is the best way to ensure you are following all the requirements.
If you are based in Canada and need to send a wire transfer to the USA or Canada or Europe, Knightsbridge Foreign Exchange is a Canadian company and can help you do so for free. They exchange currency at better rates than the bank and can give you a free wire transfer if you exchange currency with them. Call 1-877-355-5239 for more information.