How Long Does It Take a Bank to Transfer Money?

Transferring money between accounts is quicker and more secure than sending a check. There are several ways to transfer money from an account. How long does it take for an account to transfer money? That depends the type of account transfer.

Transfer Between Accounts

One advantage of having your accounts at the same financial institution is that as long as the funds are available, transferring money between your accounts at the same bank is done instantaneously. You will be able to see the updated account balance with the transfer as soon as you submit the transfer request. Transfers can be requested in the bank, online and over the phone.

Wire Transfer

A wire transfer is an electronic transfer of funds from bank to bank. There are two ways to initiate a wire transfer. A domestic wire transfer can be initiated online through your online banking if your bank is set up for online wire requests. The other way to initiate a domestic wire transfer and all international wire transfers is to go into the bank branch and request a wire transfer.

Wire transfers requested through a bank must be made before 5:00pm Eastern Time. Otherwise the request will be processed by the bank on the next business day. Generally, if you request a domestic wire transfer with available funds before 5:00 pm Eastern time, your transfer will be processed in a couple of minutes. If you make the request after 5:00 pm Eastern time your transfer will be processed at the open of business the next day.

Wire transfers sent to an international bank are withdrawn from the senders bank account the same day but may take one to two days to be deposited into the receivers bank account.

ACH Transfers

ACH transfers, or Automatic Clearing House transfers, are also electronic transfers between banks. The difference between an ACH transfer and a wire transfer is that ACH transfers are cleared in batches through a clearing house. Since the transactions are cleared in batches, they are not processed immediately. ACH payments usually take 1-3 days to process.

Western Union Transfers

Western Union offers money transfers to any Western Union location in the world. A domestic wire transfer or an international wire transfer through Western Union is usually completed within 15 minutes. You just need the name of the person receiving the funds and their location. If the Western Union is closed at the destination location, the funds will be available the next business day. Western Union has longer business hours than banks and does not require that you complete the transfer request before 5:00pm Eastern time.

In addition to the amount of time for an account transfer, you should also consider the cost. Depending on your bank and the type of transfer, the cost of transfers will vary from free to $30. Generally transfers between accounts at the same bank are free. ACH transfers have a fee, but are less expensive than wire transfers. Wire transfers are the most expensive and could cost up to $30 per transfer. Western Union’s fees depend on the amount of money transferred and the destination.