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SWIFT

SWIFT is the messaging network banks use to instruct each other to move money; it does not move money itself. Funds travel through one or more correspondent banks, so a SWIFT transfer takes 1 to 3 business days and picks up $15 to $30 in fees at each hop.

Stands forSociety for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication
What it doesCarries payment instructions between banks worldwide; the money itself moves separately, bank to bank
SWIFT / BIC code8 or 11 characters identifying a specific bank and branch, for example NWBKGB2L
Typical transfer time1 to 3 business days
Correspondent fees$15 to $30 deducted at each intermediary hop

Why do SWIFT payments cost more than the fee on the receipt?

Every correspondent bank a payment passes through can deduct its own handling fee, typically $15 to $30, before passing the balance on, and each hop can add the better part of a business day. A wire that looks like a single $45 fee on your statement often has two or three of these invisible hops behind it, which is why, on our model, a $10,000 wire comes to about $340 in total charges. Fasset routes payments over local rails or USDT where it can, which skips the correspondent chain, see the full anatomy on the payments page.

Related terms

Glossary Correspondent bank The intermediary a SWIFT payment passes through on its way to you, and why $15 to $30 goes missing at each hop. Glossary IBAN The up-to-34-character account number used across Europe, the UK and the Gulf, and why your US client has never seen one. Glossary Mid-market rate The real exchange rate, no markup, the one on Google. Banks add 2 to 4% on top before they show you a number.

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