 wire transfer or credit transfer is a method of electronic funds transfer from one person or institution (entity) to another. a wire transfer can be made from one bank account to another bank account or through a transfer of cash at a cash office. different wire transfer systems and operators provide a variety of options relative to the immediacy and finality of settlement and the cost, value, and volume of transactions. central bank wire transfer systems, such as the federal reserve's fedwire system in the united states are more likely to be real time gross settlement (rtgs) systems. rtgs systems provide the quickest availability of funds because they provide immediate "real-time" and final "irrevocable" settlement by posting the gross (complete) entry against electronic accounts of the wire transfer system operator. other systems such as chips provide net settlement on a periodic basis. more immediate settlement systems tend to process higher monetary value time-critical transactions, have higher transaction costs, and a smaller volume of payments. a faster settlement process allows less time for currency fluctuations while money is in transit. == history == wire transfers originated in the 19th century, sent over telegraph lines. this process gave them their name wire as telegraphs were transmitted over wires.   == process ==  bank wire transfers are often the cheapest method for transferring funds between bank accounts. a bank wire transfer is effected as follows: # the entity wishing to do a transfer approaches a bank and gives the bank the order to transfer a certain amount of money. iban and bic codes are given as well so the bank knows where the money needs to be sent. # the sending bank transmits a message, via a secure system (such as swift or fedwire), to the receiving bank, requesting that it effect payment according to the instructions given. # the message also includes settlement instructions. the actual transfer is not instantaneous: funds may take several hours or even days to move from the sender's account to the receiver's account. # either the banks involved must hold a reciprocal account with each other, or the payment must be sent to a bank with such an account, a correspondent bank, for further benefit to the ultimate recipient. banks collect payment for the service from the sender as well as from the recipient. the sending bank typically collects a fee separate from the fun
Payment_systems