Here's All I know about International Bank Wire Transfers.

First, the questions: Is a Bank Wire Transfer safe? How do I  go about doing it? Do I give the buyer all of the information they requested from me? What information is safe to give out? Can the payment be reversed? Does a buyer then have access to my account?  How much does it cost? How long does it take?

Now the answers:  They are absolutely safe. Bank Wire Transfers are very common in the European Union. Once the money is in your account, it cannot be reversed, disputed, accessed or charged-back.

Simply call your bank and say: "Hey, I would like to receive a bank wire transfer from overseas. What information do I need to give out, and what are your fees?"

I called mine, Citizens Bank, and this is what they told me to give the sender:

My SWIFT Code: CTZIUS33

My Routing Number: 036076150

My checking account number: 6203537614 

My name (as written on the account):  CandyBusiness

When I asked about fees, he explained that there was a $12.00 fee to receive an international bank wire transfer. You can state that the buyer must pay all fees in your TOS (Terms of Sale). Your choice. Also, each bank charges different fees. Yours might only charge $7.50 Take the time to thoroughly inquire at your bank about the fees they charge. Variables are whether it is in foreign currency or USD, and whether it includes a letter of notice, a phone notification or a fax or any combination of these. Please check with your bank to see if they will use an intermediary bank for the funds transfer. Some do, and and the intermediary bank also charges a fee- usually $12.00-$18.00.

Better yet- some banks charge nothing to receive incoming wire transfers! Call around. Even within the same bank, the different checking accounts have different fees. One bank has a zero incoming fee on their free checking accounts, yet charge a fee on their premium checking accounts. I have no experience with these banks, but others have posted they are free to accept incoming wire transfers: NetBank, ETradeBank, EverBank, Wamu, Wells Fargo (on some types of accounts), and lots of Credit Unions.

Here's a tip from theguitarcustomshop:

To avoid those pesky EXTRA charges which can make your incoming amount SMALLER than its actually supposed to be,  you need to make sure that the sender asks his bank to specify "ALL CHARGES OURS" (written in english) in their send. This is so that correspondent banks along the way will not "double dip" from the amount that was sent (any extra charges are passed back to the sender's bank, and not deducted from the amount sent!)

How long does it take to receive? It varies. 1, 2, 3, and 5 days. My experience is that 2-3 days is an average.

Be sure to ask that the money be sent in US dollars. You don't want to pay any currency converter fees.

If your bank doesn't have a SWIFT code, it probably will give you just the routing number. I believe this is true with Credit Unions. You may have to explain to the buyer that they will have to reassure the clerk that this Credit Union has only a routing number and it will work without a SWIFT code.  

Keep in mind that this is about international bank wire transfers. Your bank probably has a different schedule of charges for a domestic transfer. My bank actually charges more for domestic transfers.

Your address is not necessary. You can decide on whether or not you want to give this to the buyer.

Here is the synopsis of information you will need to give your buyer:

Bank Name and Address: _________________________

SWIFT Code: __________________________________

Routing Number: ________________________________

Checking Account Number: ________________________

Your name (must match checking name):_______________

Amount sent in USD (US Dollars):  ___________YES/NO

Fees: _________________________________________

Total: _________________________________________

Well, that is all I know about International Bank Wire Transfers. They are inexpensive, safe, quick and easy to accept. Good luck!