International transfer

An international, external or cross-border transfer consists in sending funds from an account in one country to an account in another country.

What should you bear in mind about international bank transfers?

• If the sender and the recipient are both in a country within the SEPA zone, the costs of the transfer must be the same as those of domestic transfers.
• When a correspondent bank is involved, the sender must be informed by its bank that it will have to pay any fees charged by the correspondent bank.
• If both, IBAN and BIC codes, are provided, the transfer is considered to be straight through processing (STP). These transfers are automatic, fast and cheap.

In the case of cross-border transfers, the funds may take longer to arrive, especially if the account of the sender or the recipient is outside the SEPA zone.