Wire Transfer - Regulation and Price

Regulation and Price

In 2002, the European Commission relegated the regulation of the fees that a bank may charge for payments in euros between European Union member countries down to the domestic level, resulting in very low or no fees for electronic transfers within the Eurozone.

In 2005, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway joined the EU regulation on electronic transfers. However, this regulation is intended to be superseded by the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), consisting of 32 European countries.

In 2009 EC published a new regulation (EC) No 924/2009 on cross-border payments in the Community and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2560/2001. The new regulation (EC) No 924/2009 Article 1 (q.v., Ref.4) states that an IBAN/BIC transfer within SEPA must not cost more than a national transfer, no matter which currency is used. But receiving bank can charge for exchanging to local currency. However, according to Article 7 any current arrangements (made between payment services before November 1, 2009) can be honored up to November 1, 2012.

In the United States wire transfers are costly. For example, as of November 2011 the Bank Of America charged $25 to send a wire and $12 to receive one within the U.S. For international transfer, it charged $35–$45 outgoing, $16 incoming. However, fees may vary from bank to bank. ACH transfers are much less expensive or even free of charge as part of on-line banking packages.

In the United States, domestic wire transfers are governed by Federal Regulation J and by Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code.