When money is transferred directly to the bank account of a person or business located in another country, we call it an international money transfer. If you’ve ever had to receive money from abroad, either as a gift or as payment, you would know the formalities and factors involved in receiving money from abroad. These, including the regulations prevalent in the sender and receiver’s country, the dealings in local currencies and the subsequent conversion, impact how long it takes to receive money from abroad.
SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is commonly used for international money transfers worldwide. This network enables banks and other financial institutions to interact with one another promptly and securely.
When receiving money from abroad, there are certain questions that you should have the answers to, such as:
- How is the money being sent to you?
- What is the amount?
- In what currency?
- Who is going to pay for the money transfer fees?
Then you need to make sure that whatever details are required, may it be bank account details, IBAN (International Bank Account Number) and the SWIFT code of the recipient’s bank. Remittee must also note that certain fees are levied when you receive money from abroad, such as outgoing transfer fees, intermediary bank fees, incoming transfer fees and exchange rate fees.
Different Ways to Receive Money from Abroad
There are various ways for people worldwide to opt for when deciding how to receive money from abroad.
International money transfer services: Using an international money transfer service, you can receive money from abroad immediately into your bank account. You must submit your bank account information.
Bank-to-bank transfers: You can receive money from abroad by transferring funds from one bank account to another. The sender must initiate the transfer from their bank account, typically online banking. All you have to do is submit information such as your name, account number, residential address, the name of your bank, and a SWIFT or Bank Identifier Code (BIC).
Money orders: The sender can request an international bank draft in any currency from an overseas financial institution, using cash from their account to meet the amount of the international guaranteed cheque.
How long does it take to receive money from abroad?
To give an exact timeline of how long will it take for you to receive money from abroad is not exactly possible as multiple factors have to be taken into consideration which can make the process slower or faster.
To give a rough estimate, receiving money from abroad can take anywhere from 24 hours to 2-5 business days. There are rules and regulations set in place to ensure a safe and secure transfer of funds, and these rules can affect the processing time as well. The processing time differs from platform to platform and can determine how long it will take before you officially receive money from abroad.
How can the process of receiving money from abroad be affected?
The process of receiving money from abroad can be pretty simple and direct; however, the actual process may differ depending on various factors.
The bank can be closed due to holidays:
Gazetted holidays are common around the globe and can easily hinder the process of receiving money from abroad as services will be completely shut down during this time.
Bank Cut-offs:
Banks have their cut-off timings by which you have to submit your money transfer request or application. If the cut-off timing is missed, you must wait until the next day when services will resume.
Amount of money being transferred:
The bigger the amount, the longer it would take for the banks to process the transaction and ensure that the money from abroad reaches you safely.
Time zones:
Transferring and receiving money from abroad means that your money is travelling across time zones, and for your transaction to be processed, banks need to be open simultaneously. The working hours can be different and vary depending on the time zones of all banks that are involved in the process.
Fraud prevention methods:
When making international bank transfers, both consumers and banks place the utmost priority on security. As a result, several fraud prevention processes need to be completed, which can significantly lengthen the time it takes to make an international bank transfer.
Transfer International Money With Salt
One of the major factors that can affect your timeline of receiving money from abroad is the platform you use for such transactions. Salt is one of the most trustworthy global banking platforms you can use to receive payments from abroad in the fastest way possible.
Open international bank account without incorporating your business overseas, and accept payments from clients abroad at the best possible rates within 24 hours to your Indian bank account. Salt seeks to ease up money transfers and handling for both SMEs and freelancers operating and transacting globally.
